MLB Network completely disrespects Mariners starters in recent ranking

Mariners fans (and indeed Seattle sports fans in general) have long believed there is a bias against their club, whether it be of the East coast variety and/or because they are "hidden" away in the Pacific Northwest and sometimes derisively referred to as "Southern Alaska." You can make the case that at times they are being a little too sensitive, but we now have an example where any claims of being disrespected are actually entirely justified.

We are referring to an MLB.com video which was released last Wednesday, counting down the top 10 Major League starting pitchers as of right now. While you can understand the case for the majority of those who have been included, the list is noticeable by the absence of anyone from the Mariners rotation.

* Snell and Burnes pitched for the Giants and Orioles last season

That would be the same Mariners rotation which is coming off a season where they led the Majors with a team 3.38 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, .222 batting average and 942 2/3 innings pitched, while also allowing the fewest walks with 185 and having the second-most strikeouts with 889.

Logan Gilbert has the biggest grievance in the Mariners rotation

Now yes, we appreciate the saying that sometimes it's the sum of all your parts which make you stronger (strongest?) overall, but it still smacks of disrespect towards the Mariners. However, if people still want to argue against this, then let's consider the individual case of Logan Gilbert specifically, who was the biggest snub from the best rotation in baseball.

Gilbert was a workhorse for the Mariners last season, with his career-high 208 2/3 innings being the most in the Majors as a whole. However, there was more to his game than just being an innings eater, even though he also tied for the Major League lead with 33 starts over the course of the 2024 campaign.

Chief among the 27-year-old's achievements was leading the Majors with a sterling 0.887 WHIP, better than Paul Skenes' 0.947, Zack Wheeler's 0.955 and Tarik Skubal's 0.922. Gilbert also recorded 220 strikeouts, which were only eight behind Skubal's Major League-leading 228.

To help round out the case for Gilbert's inclusion in the top 10, his 3.23 ERA is better than Gerrit Cole's and Logan Webb's, while his 3.27 FIP is lower than Cole again, along with Corbin Burnes. However, we have no doubt there will still be plenty of critics claiming the Mariners' 2024 All-Star righty doesn't deserve a place in MLB Network's top 10.

In this respect, we do realize lists such as this are meant to be fun, while also almost intentionally being represented in such a way as to encourage debates (sometimes of the more heated variety). However, no matter the subjective nature of it all, to not have any Mariners starting pitchers in the top 10 is bordering on asinine.

We will assume that part of the thinking related to looking ahead as well back, alluded to in the list being the top 10 pitchers as of right now. This would explain Blake Snell and Cole being included despite only making 20 and 17 starts last season, though you can argue it's still balanced more towards what they've done in the past as opposed to looking ahead.

Bryan Woo can also make a case to be included for Mariners

In any event, we'd also like to present the case for another Mariners arm, if we are including starters who didn't pitch the entire season in 2024. We're referring to Bryan Woo, who dealt with some injury issues early on, but eventually settled in and proved to be a rousing success in Seattle.

Woo had shown plenty of promise during his rookie year in 2023, but he took his game to another level last season, and was arguably the Mariners' best starter by the end of the campaign ... which is saying something for a rotation which also includes George Kirby, Luis Castillo and Bryce Miller.

The proud Oakland native ended up with the best ERA (2.89) and ERA+ (127) on the Mariners starting staff. He was also just behind Gilbert with a tremendous 0.898 WHIP, while his 9-3 record was the best win-loss percentage (and by quite a bit). We'll admit the win-loss record is a bit of a contentious one, given the lack of run support from an offense which ranked only 21st last year.

As for being compared to the top 10 starting pitchers listed by MLB Network, Woo's 2.89 ERA would have ranked fifth-best, while his 0.898 WHIP would have been tops. His 3.40 FIP is better than two of the top 10, while his ERA+ of 127 trumps three of the starters listed.

Now, we will acknowledge that statistics can be manipulated to support most arguments, particularly when there are so many to use in the game of baseball. Again combined with the subjective nature of these lists, you're never going to get everyone to agree. For example, there are plenty of people who believe Skubal and or Sale should be ranked ahead of Wheeler on the list.

Ultimately, though, it still doesn't take away from the reality that the Mariners were snubbed by MLB Network, particularly Gilbert. Seattle fans will just have to hope this can somehow provide even more motivation for the M's rotation to go out and dominate again in 2025, and prove they are still the No. 1 starting five in the Majors.

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