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Prediction #3: Chris Flexen has a bad month for the Mariners
This goes back to the bold predictions I made for the season, and I think it starts early. In one of his first two starts, Flexen is gonna get rocked. Like, 3 IP & 7 Runs badly rocked. Are they all earned? Maybe, maybe not. But it’s the start of a bad April for Flexen, and things never get any better after that. He pitches decent sometimes, but as April draws to a close, he ends up sitting around an 8.50 ERA.
Remember 2021, how Flexen really struggled on the road? It seemed like a lot of his starts were away from Seattle for quite a while, and it was skewing his stats. His splits ended up being pretty crazy halfway through the year due to the absolute drubbing he took from the Padres.
Well, I think the start in Minnesota could be the start of another rough road for Flexen. The Mariners outfield defense isn’t that good. With Kelenic needing to show improvement, Julio unproven at the MLB level as well as center field, and Haniger and Winker below average (Winker is worse), it seems like a recipe for disaster for a pitcher that sees a lot of his pitches end up in play.
Only time will tell if any of these things are actually going to happen. It sure would be awesome to see Julio and Geno rake all month, and I would love to be wrong about Flexen. Baseball is here though, and for now, that’s good enough for me. Go Mariners!