49 Days Until Mariners Opening Day! Previewing #49 Kendall Graveman

Just 49 days left till Mariners Opening Day! So close, yet so far away. Now that we are at day 49 in our countdown, let’s talk about our #49, Kendall Graveman.

The 30-year-old reliever declined his $3.5M club option back in October, but Jerry Dipoto brought him right back at a reduced cost of $1.25M.

The original intent was for Graveman to be a starting pitcher in Seattle, but we learned that he is more valuable out of the pen. He didn’t post the most impressive numbers last season, but there were many good things we saw from him considering how he missed the entire 2019 season.

What to expect from Kendall Graveman

One of the good things I was referring to was his velocity. Despite having elbow surgery, Graveman’s velocity actually improved. In 2018, his sinker (most used pitch), was 93.6mph on average. In 2020, his sinker was 94.8mph on average.

Some other positives, his xERA was the lowest of his career last year at 3.98 and his barrel percentage was in the 89th percentile of the entire MLB.

The problem for Graveman last year was opposing exit velocity, whiff rate, strikeout rate, and walk rate (which is almost everything). His allowed exit velocity ranked in the 4th percentile in the MLB. Batters averaged a 91.6mph exit velocity off of him.

His whiff rate was in the 5th percentile, his strikeout rate was in the 26th percentile, and his walk rate was in the 31st percentile. These are all important numbers and often correlate to success, so it is worrisome.

But Graveman is a low risk, high reward type of players for the Mariners. We are giving him a chance to prove himself in the MLB, and that should be enough motivation for a player that has been mediocre for his entire career.

Baseball Reference thinks Kendall Graveman will post a 5.02 with a 1.361 WHIP this season. As accurate as it may be based on the math, I believe that he can do much better than that.

Yes, he posted a 5.79 ERA last season, but he had limited appearances due to injuries. If he’s fully healthy, I think Graveman has the stuff to be a great reliever.

He has been a starter for most of his career, and he might just need that change in scenery. Do you remember Brandon Morrow?

The Mariners chose him fifth overall in the 2006 MLB Draft and didn’t really pan out as we liked. After he was converted to a full-time reliever, he has nearly been elite. Maybe Kendall Graveman can become that guy who just needed to move to the pen.

My prediction: a sub 4.50 ERA, and 1.200 WHIP