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The Seattle Mariners starting pitching depth has forced the team to make several interesting decisions with the rotation this season.
The Mariners have gone with piggyback approaches and six-man rotations. The team planned on having every starter rotate through on piggyback outings through the All-Star Break, but went back on that decision for Saturday's 4-3 loss against the Cleveland Guardians and had Logan Gilbert get a true start.
Seattle's is still working out the best combination and approach to being six starters deep at the major league level, but the organization's starting pitching depth goes beyond the hurlers currently with the club on the 26-man roster.
The Mariners boast two of the best starting pitching prospects in baseball in left-hander Kade Anderson (No. 6 MLB Pipeline top 100) and right-hander Ryan Sloan (No. 19 MLB Pipeline top 100).
Both pitchers are currently in their first seasons with the Double-A Arkansas Travelers. This season is Sloan's second with the organization whereas it's Anderson's first. The former was picked in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft and the latter was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 draft.
Members of Seattle's front office have already said that they haven't ruled out either making their major league debut at some point this season, and there's an argument to be made that both are already prepared for the big leagues.
Sloan had a slow start to the season but has started to find his footing over the last two months. He's allowed three earned runs or less in seven of his last eight starts. He's allowed one earned run or less in four outings in that stretch.
Sloan has a 4.11 ERA this season and has struck out 72 batters in in 57 innings of work across 13 starts.
Anderson entered this season with a healthy amount of expectations after being selected third overall. And he's managed to exceed even the most lofty of them.
The former NCAA College World Series Most Outstanding Player has posted a 1.22 ERA this year and has fanned 99 batters in 66.2 innings pitched across 13 starts.
The Mariners won't be able to carry eight starters on the roster in the regular season, but the team might be considering a creative way to get both minor leaguers up to the majors without impacting the starting rotation.
Per a post on "X" from Seattle Times reporter Adam Jude, Seattle has considered the idea of bullpen including Anderson and Sloan for the final stretch of the season.
If the Mariners were to bring up Sloan and Anderson for that purpose, it would give the M's a bullpen including those two, lefties Gabe Speier and Jose A. Ferrer and righties Matt Brash, Eduard Bazardo and Andres Munoz.
That many high-leverage arms coupled with the six-man rotation could give Seattle a major advantage when it comes to pitching if it makes the playoffs. However, there organization would run the risk of injury to Sloan or Anderson which could hinder their development as starters.
Regardless, the advantages it could provide the Mariners makes it a move worth considering.
Remember to join our MARINERS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Mariners fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
Continue reading...
The Mariners have gone with piggyback approaches and six-man rotations. The team planned on having every starter rotate through on piggyback outings through the All-Star Break, but went back on that decision for Saturday's 4-3 loss against the Cleveland Guardians and had Logan Gilbert get a true start.
Seattle's is still working out the best combination and approach to being six starters deep at the major league level, but the organization's starting pitching depth goes beyond the hurlers currently with the club on the 26-man roster.
The Mariners boast two of the best starting pitching prospects in baseball in left-hander Kade Anderson (No. 6 MLB Pipeline top 100) and right-hander Ryan Sloan (No. 19 MLB Pipeline top 100).
Both pitchers are currently in their first seasons with the Double-A Arkansas Travelers. This season is Sloan's second with the organization whereas it's Anderson's first. The former was picked in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft and the latter was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 draft.
Members of Seattle's front office have already said that they haven't ruled out either making their major league debut at some point this season, and there's an argument to be made that both are already prepared for the big leagues.
Sloan had a slow start to the season but has started to find his footing over the last two months. He's allowed three earned runs or less in seven of his last eight starts. He's allowed one earned run or less in four outings in that stretch.
Sloan has a 4.11 ERA this season and has struck out 72 batters in in 57 innings of work across 13 starts.
Anderson entered this season with a healthy amount of expectations after being selected third overall. And he's managed to exceed even the most lofty of them.
The former NCAA College World Series Most Outstanding Player has posted a 1.22 ERA this year and has fanned 99 batters in 66.2 innings pitched across 13 starts.
The Mariners won't be able to carry eight starters on the roster in the regular season, but the team might be considering a creative way to get both minor leaguers up to the majors without impacting the starting rotation.
Per a post on "X" from Seattle Times reporter Adam Jude, Seattle has considered the idea of bullpen including Anderson and Sloan for the final stretch of the season.
If the Mariners were to bring up Sloan and Anderson for that purpose, it would give the M's a bullpen including those two, lefties Gabe Speier and Jose A. Ferrer and righties Matt Brash, Eduard Bazardo and Andres Munoz.
That many high-leverage arms coupled with the six-man rotation could give Seattle a major advantage when it comes to pitching if it makes the playoffs. However, there organization would run the risk of injury to Sloan or Anderson which could hinder their development as starters.
Regardless, the advantages it could provide the Mariners makes it a move worth considering.
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Remember to join our MARINERS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Mariners fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
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