Mariners Analysis: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not

Apr 10, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Tom Wilhelmsen (54) speaks with catcher Mike Zunino (3) between plays against the Oakland Athletics during the fourth inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Stock Rising – The Bullpen

To me this is the biggest key to the Mariners success. The bullpen has to be great for the Mariners to have a legitimate shot at making a postseason run. Now, just because they are in the “stock up” section, doesn’t mean that I think they are playing flawlessly. What it means is I am seeing improvements in the past week, and that is something I have definitely seen from the Mariners pen.

They got a big boost getting Tom Wilhelmsen back just over a week ago, and there ERA has dipped because of it. He’s pitched 2.2 innings, and only given up three hits and zero runs, striking out three in the process. Other guys like Danny Farquhar (two scoreless innings his last outing) and Joe Beimel have certainly helped too. On the season the Mariners have a bullpen ERA of 3.70, and that simply won’t cut it for a team that is still looking for answers on offense.

Since last Sunday, it has been a little bit of a different story. The bullpen has an ERA of 2.70, a full run less per nine innings than what they have averaged for the year.

That difference seems marginal, but it could certainly be the difference between winning and losing a ballgame, and with the hole the Mariners have started to dig themselves, every win counts. They aren’t exactly where I would like them to be, but three straight outings by the bullpen in which they’ve given up no runs certainly makes me believe that they are on the right track to being dominant again.

Next: Logan Morrison