Projecting the Pitchers: 15 arms that could start the season with Mariners

The Mariners Rotation

PEORIA, ARIZONA – FEBRUARY 24: Starting pitcher Marco Gonzales #7 of the Seattle Mariners pitches against the Chicago Cubs during the frist inning of the MLB spring training game at Peoria Stadium on February 24, 2020 in Peoria, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The starting pitchers the Mariners will have on their Opening Day roster should be pretty easy to predict. I do have the Mariners going with a six-man rotation, but it’s the sixth man to start the season that could have some surprise.

Starting pitchers (6):

The first five here are pretty easy to figure out. Barring injury in the ramping up to Opening Day, we already knew those five pitchers would be in the rotation.

It was the sixth spot that I had a hard time with.

I originally had Nestor Cortes in the sixth spot, not because he’s better than Gilbert, but because I wasn’t sure if Gilbert was ready to “start” the season with the Mariners.

With the shortened season and the development of players still being the focus, it was vital to get Gilbert facing Major League hitters as soon as possible. A case could be made for Justin Dunn (who I’m sure will be on the proposed “taxi” squad), but in the end, Gilbert had a strong opening spring training, while I’d still like to see Dunn work on a third pitch and commanding it a bit more before making the jump to the majors.

The Mariners Rotation

Schedule