2018: Which Mariner Are You Most Excited (or Nervous) For?

2017 was a strange, injury-ridden season – which means 2018 has many holes…and to be honest, we have no idea how they are going to be filled. Are pitchers going to get healthy? Who are our pitchers actually going to be? Will guys who had good 2017’s keep it up? Will guys who had bad 2017’s step it up? The Muse editors give their takes on the Mariner they are each most excited to watch this upcoming year.

Anthony: Félix Hernández

​There have been few constants for the Seattle Mariners in the long period since their last playoff appearance. Managers, general managers, and owners have come and gone. Waves of prospects have made fans salivate (Remember Phillippe Aumont?), flamed out, hit the DL and moved on to other pastures. But there is one person who has been through this soul-crushing-slow-burning-dumpster-fire spiral of failure in a much more immediate and horrifying place than the casual adjacency of fans. One person who has faced the frustration of being a Seattle Mariner with a smile, with grace, with fire, and with questionable hairstyles.

Now, as we head into the 2018 season, Félix reminds us that time is the most powerful force of all and that all good things must come to an end. The end of his career, and his decline from demigod to mere mortal looks far more immediate and painful than I ever anticipated. He gave

the franchise his best years and gave fans hope in a time when Russell Branyan moonshots were the only other cool thing about the team.

I cannot wait to watch and savor every moment of this Félix season. I will giggle like a child every time his changeup dives away for strike three and will fist pump for every double play groundball to Robbie. Few players in the league deserve to go to the playoffs more than him and the team is running out of time to get there. This year is the best chance we have to get Félix into the Promised Land and I am fired up to watch it happen. Plus, have you seen what his hair looks like this spring? It’s somehow worse than the frosted tips/ bleached crown he had in 2016.

Patrick: Ariel Miranda

Not so fun fact: Ariel Miranda led the Mariners in starts last season. By a full five starts. That’s like a whole month’s worth…not great. But because he wasn’t all that great in those 29 starts (especially toward the end of the season), his role on the 2018 team is up in the air – if he has one at all.

Erasmo Ramirez’s injury sucks, but it’s an interesting opportunity for Miranda. Reporters who follow the team are generally lining the rotation up to be Félix, James Paxton, Mike Leake, Ramirez and Marco Gonzalez, but conceivably a good spring could get Miranda past Gonzalez, although Marco is out of options and Miranda has two remaining. Ramirez’s injury could see him land on the disabled list to start the season, and could conceivably result in Miranda and Gonzalez both winning spots. But for the love of God, hopefully another pitcher is brought in for one of those spots. That could leave Miranda starting opening day in Tacoma. Which, fine, he’ll probably make it back at some point.

That said, a good spring from Miranda could make him an important asset in helping to clean up poor outings from the bullpen. He could also make spot starts if an overworked, oft-injured rotation requires it. And let’s face it, it probably will.

All that said, Miranda being an experienced starter, a bullpen option and a lefty probably makes him the most versatile pitcher on the 40-man roster in terms of the number of different roles he could play. What I’ll be watching for from him in Spring Training, beyond his basic performance, is how Scott Servais chooses to use him. If the momentum of injuries continue, he’ll almost certainly have to start early in the season. But if it slows, his usage is definitely something to track.

Charlie: Mike Zunino

This is Mike Zunino’s prove it year and I’m excited to see if he can take the next step after an impressive second half to the 2017 season. From a statistical standpoint, Zunino had the most productive season by a catcher in Mariners history last season (3.6 WAR, .251/.331/.509). Beyond the analytics, a full season of good-offense Zunino adds depth to a lineup that could, could, be fairly deep with his competent bat.

But more than that, Zunino is going to be the anchor to what will likely be a merry-go-round of starting and relief pitchers this season. The Ners have already caught the injury bug this Spring, and the health questions at the top of the rotation, and the uncertainty at the back end, will require a steady hand behind the dish to keep everything from going to shit. Zunino has the capacity as a game manager to get this goon squad of pitchers through a season, and without a good Zunino in 2017, I argue that the Ners have zero shot at making it an interesting season.

At Spring Training in Peoria specifically, I want to see Zunino developing a strong rapport with all the pitchers on the 40-man roster, as it’s more likely than not he’ll be their battery mate at some point or another this season.

Travis: Dave Sims

Surprise! The guidelines for this section were to introduce the Mariner that we were most excited for this upcoming season – not exclusively a player. And to be honest, I am incredibly excited for Dave Sims this year. It may seem strange to look at a broadcaster as potentially having a breakout year, but in all reality this may be the case for good ol’ Dave.

“The voice of the Mariners” is a label that has described two people thus far in the franchise’s history, as the baton was passed from classic Dave Niehaus to classic-but-quirky Rick Rizzs in 2010, with Rick having served so ever since. But with every call of a fly ball call that sounds like it could be a home run but instead winds up being caught by the second-baseman (these happen all the time), the loved-but-ageing Rizzs is on the decline…and slowly on his way out.

Aaron Goldsmith was the young gun brought in to potentially become the next Niehaus, but many believe that he has quickly grown out of Seattle broadcasting shoes and might be on a course for bigger ballparks and networks (he already does some ESPN work). Goldy is great – and he works well with Rizzs – but it would not surprise me if he departs Seattle for Bristol within the next few years.

This leaves the door open for Sims. By now, you should probably know that the Mariner Muse frickin’ loves Dave Sims (we’re the official blog of Dave), as represented by our most popular segment, Simsisms. But while we often celebrate him for being funny and slightly weird, he is actually an incredible broadcaster who offers tremendous insight into the game, shows great passion for the success of the team itself, and seems to have committed to the Safeco booth. In 2018, I am excited to see Dave step up to the mic and begin to solidify himself as the next true “Voice of the Mariners.”

#Opinion #TeamOverview