Logan Evans' soaring prospect stock should lead to a spot in Mariners rotation

While it will take more than one player to help turn the Seattle Mariners around from a 6-8 start, it certainly won't hurt to have George Kirby back in the rotation. As such, the update from general manager Justin Hollander that the righty probably won't return before May is not the kind of news fans want to hear.

If we use May 1 as a basis after the latest update, this theoretically means another three missed starts for Kirby. This must bring some dread to Mariners fans, just based on how his replacements have performed thus far in the rotation.

First there was Emerson Hancock, who has yet to live up to the expectations which come with being a sixth overall draft pick. He couldn't have been much worse in his first outing of 2025, as he allowed seven hits, a walk and six earned runs, and didn't even get out of the first inning versus the Detroit Tigers.

This resulted in Hancock being optioned to Triple-A Tacoma to work on his game. His place in the Mariners rotation was subsequently taken by Luis F. Castillo (i.e., the "other" Luis Castillo), who earned the first start of his Major League career against the San Francisco Giants.

Luis Castillo does not live up to his namesake for the Mariners

The good news was that Castillo lasted more than three times as long as Hancock, but it still wasn't exactly great. The Dominican Republic native allowed six hits, two walks and three earned runs in 3.0 innings. His next start against the Houston Astros was more of the same, as he gave up six hits, five walks and four runs (three earned) in 4.0 innings and was subsequently sent back to Tacoma.

This leads to uncertainty over who will get the next opportunity to be the fifth starter in the Mariners rotation, with an opening on Wednesday in Cincinnati against the Reds. In our humble opinion, why not call up Logan Evans and give him the chance to show what he can do on the big stage?

Evans has come a long way since being selected in the 12th round of the 2023 draft, with him being projected by MLB Pipeline to make his Major League debut this season. He didn't have the best of showings during four appearances in spring training, but he's shown some promise to begin the year in his first exposure to Triple-A.

Logan Evans beginning to heat up in Triple-A

Evans has made three starts with the Rainiers to date, with his most recent one on Wednesday being his best so far. In 6.0 standout innings against the Sacramento River Cats, he allowed just two hits, no walks and one earned run, while also striking out seven:

MLB Pipeline has Evans ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the Mariners farm system. They are most taken by his slider, while noting he relies a lot on his low-90s two-seamer for his fastball.

While none of the 23-year-old's pitches are renowned for being particularly dominating, his varied repertoire has scouts believing he has a good shot at being a back-end starter in the Majors. At the risk of jinxing the young man, we would give him an opportunity now, because he surely can't do any worse than what we've seen from Hancock and Castillo in their three combined starts.

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