Seattle Mariners Pitcher Emerson Hancock Discusses Pitch-Mix, Spring Training Debut
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The Seattle Mariners starting rotation is arguably the best in baseball. And the depth of that group was rarely tested in 2024.
The Mariners were the only team that had four pitchers start 30 or more games. The team had seven different pitchers start games in 2024. Outside of the rotation, left-handed reliever Jhonathan Diaz started one game. And Seattle's No. 6 starter, Emerson Hancock, started 12.
It's not safe to assume the staff will be able to maintain that kind of health again in 2025. But even if it does, Hancock could be much more prepared if and when he gets his number called.
Hancock has been working to add or fine-tune the pitches in his repertoire. He had a chance to test out some of those offerings in a start against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Feb. 23.
Hancock pitched 1.2 innings and struck out two batters, He allowed one earned run off three hits. Seven of his eight first pitches went for strikes (24-of-29 overall).
Hancock talked after the game about his first in-game action of the spring.
"That's what I want to do this year," Hancock said. "I felt like last year, I kind of didn't do as good as a job as I wanted to. And this year, it's just about trying to find ways to continue to attack the strike zone, win counts and just keep throwing strikes."
Hancock also discussed his work in the offseason.
"This offseason, I kind of just messed with everything," Hancock said. "I wanted to mess with a cutter, I wanted to mess with a sweeper, I wanted to change different grips. And when I got here, again, they were like 'Try this grip, try this cue, try this feel.' And you're always trying to find the one that works, so it's always nice to kind of mess around with it. ... I think so far the sweeper has gotten a lot better with the grip. And then, messing with the cutter, it can really help me (against) lefties. So it's kind of about refining those things."
Hancock finished 2024 with a 4.75 ERA and struck out 39 batters in 60.2 innings pitched across his dozen starts last season.
Emerson Hancock throwing in the bullpen with Pete Woodworth standing in the box pic.twitter.com/D6NOcKycO1
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) February 20, 2025
Hancock will likely spend the majority of 2025 with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, barring injury or unexpected trade.
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