Mariners Analysis: Who Should be the M’s 5th Starter in 2016?

Jun 23, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners pitcher Mike Montgomery (37) throws against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Montgomery – LHP

The gangly 26-year-old has to be viewed as the underdog in the fight to win the final spot in the Mariners’ starting rotation. Mike Montgomery was acquired by the M’s from the Rays last spring in exchange for Erasmo Ramirez.

Not much was expected from the southpaw, but Monty proved to be a valuable member of the M’s pitching staff. He went 4-6 with a 4.60 ERA across 16 starts for the Mariners in 2015. Montgomery fanned 64 and walked 37 through 90 innings pitched. The opposition managed to tally 1.433 walks/hits per inning.

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Those numbers may not jump off the page, but Montgomery was stellar during the first 7 outings of his big league career. Monty went 4-2 with a 1.62 ERA through his first 50 innings. He recorded his first career shutout against the Kansas City Royals on June 23, allowing just 5 hits and striking out 10. Montgomery followed up his impressive performance against the Royals with another shutout, this time against the San Diego Padres on June 30. He surrendered just 1 hit and stuck out 7 en route to earning the win.

Baseball Reference is projecting a decent season for Mike Montgomery in 2016. They anticipate he will go 5-6 with a 4.29 ERA across 105 innings. The mathematicians over at FanGraphs do not expect Monty to make much of an impact next season in Seattle. They believe he will go 1-1 with a 3.93 ERA over the course of 19 innings.

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