Seattle Mariners Pitching Lineups to Start Live Competition

The Seattle Mariners have an intrasquad scheduled for Monday, March 2, and weather permitting we will see Erasmo Ramirez and Jordan Pries start against each other.

Following Pries, Charlie Furbush will take the mound. Then, after him, Lucas Luetge— a guy who is trying to get that 2nd lefty spot in the bullpen– will pitch. Once Ramirez is finished pitching, minor league signee and former Mariner Joe Saunders will sling the ball.

Along with theses 5 pitchers, the Mariners have Justin Germano, Tyler Olson, Forrest Snow, Stephen Landazuri and Mark Lowe are scheduled to see live action on Monday.

If the game has to be cancelled due to inclement weather, the Mariners aren’t expected to make up the game.

Of the pitchers hitting the mound, it will be most interesting to watch Erasmo Ramirez as he seems to be one of the 3 youngsters fighting for the no. 5 in the Mariners rotation along with fellow lefty Roenis Elias and 21-year old Taijuan Walker.

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In parts of 3 seasons with the Seattle Mariners, Ramirez has a 7-12 record with a 4.62 ERA and 1.355 WHIP. He’s walked 72 batters and struck out 165. Most concerning with Erasmo, though, are his home run numbers: in just 206.2 innings pitched, he has allowed 31 home runs. King Felix Hernandez, for the other side of the coin, allows on average 18 home runs per 231.0 innings pitched.

It looks like Taijuan Walker is the front runner to take the 5th spot in the Mariners rotation, but Erasmo Ramirez could find his way into the rotation if he pitches well with good command and consistency at Spring Training.

The thing he has going for him in a backwards way is his lack of options: if the M’s don’t put him on the 25-man roster in either the ‘Pen or rotation, they have to expose him to waivers before they can outright him to the minor leagues. So, if he pitches well enough in the spring, the M’s may elect to have Ramirez take the 5 spot and further delay the service time clocks on both Walker and Elias.

Will Ramirez make the starting rotation in 2015? Hard to say. But, if it doesn’t rain too much on Monday, Ramirez will have his first shot this spring to prove he is capable of pitching at the Major League level.