Mariners 25-Man Ultimate Preview: Roster-Projected Starting Pitchers

Mar 4, 2017; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, AZ, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo (49) throws during the first inning against the Colorado Rockies during a spring training game at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

SP- Yovani Gallardo

IP- 118 W- 6 L- 7 ERA- 4.82 WHIP- 1.42 K-97 WAR- .7

I used to be the biggest Yovani Gallardo fan. Emphasis on the “used”. When he was a Milwaukee Brewer, I remember always being that guy in Fantasy baseball who would draft him, and he rewarded me almost every year with a solid output.

However, now he is an anomaly of sorts. From 2007-2012 you knew exactly what you were getting from Gallardo. He was a 1.5-2.5 WAR player, and he was going to be consistently in that category.

However, in 2013, Gallardo’s career changed. All of a sudden he had a down year, in which he was downright awful and posted a .5 WAR. Then he got back to his normal ways, and in 2014 he posted a 2.5 WAR. People thought he was back to being his normal 1.5-2.5 self. Maybe 2013 was a fluke. Those happen.

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Then 2014 happened. Gallardo had the best year of his life after joining the Texas Rangers. Gallardo posted a career-best 4.1 WAR and was a fantastic pitcher for the Texas Rangers, which naturally landed him a large contract for the following year.

The Orioles signed him with high confidence that he would boost their rotation. But Gallardo was not a man who could be predicted and instead had the worst year of his life. He posted a 5.42 ERA which was the second worst in the Majors behind only James Shields and had a career-worst .2 WAR.

So which Gallardo are we going to see this year: Dr. Jekyll or Mr.Hyde?

Sadly, I think it’s the Mr. Hyde. His walk rate last year at 4.65 bb/9 was the worst of his career. His slider, which used to be one of his pitches, became the second worst slider in baseball. And he became a fly ball pitcher in a division where that wasn’t a good idea.

Being a fly-ball pitcher in Safeco isn’t the worst thing, and I don’t think he will replicate last year’s stats, but I think his days as a 1.5+ WAR player are over.

I think he is a player we move on from, either at the trading deadline or just at some point in the year where the Mariners realize maybe Ariel Miranda should get a chance to prove himself.

Next: Mariners Favorite Player Results

That’s the ultimate breakdown for the starting rotation. Soon I will break down the ultimate preview for the bullpen. Stay tuned for the rest of the previews before the season begins on April 4th.

SP- Yovani Gallardo

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