4 Mariners who have stood out after the first week of the 2024 season

This offseason was full of ups and downs. We went into it expecting a super busy offseason where Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander would be able to go big fish hunting. It was one of the most impressive free agent classes in recent memories, only to be given the "RSN" issues and payroll constraints.

Even with all of that, Dipoto and Hollander were extremely busy flipping this roster over. With new starters in five of the nine offensive positions, there was probably a lot of hope and optimism, as well as some skepticism; with so many new faces, there can be an adjustment period.

The team has played pretty well so far, splitting the opening series with the Red Sox, before taking game one against the Guardians. Some familiar faces have been really impressive; while Dipoto, Hollander, and company look to have found another solid bullpen arm (are we surprised because we shouldn't be). Let's take a look at four players who have stood out after the first week of Mariners baseball.

Gabe Speier has taken another step forward

Other than the offense (which was a huge talking point), the emphasis of this offseason was placed on the Mariners bullpen. The Mariners rely heavily on the pitching staff, which even though they are one of the best in the game, are still pretty young and inexperienced.

The Mariners were hoping that some of the other bullpen arms that they relied on a lot last year, like Gabe Speier and Trent Thornton. Gabe Speier has taken that challenge and looks like he is ready to become one of the more underrated relievers in the Mariners' bullpen.

After posting just 40 innings over four years, Speier pitched 54.2 innings in 2023, and not only was it the most innings in his career, but he was the most dominant in that extended look. He had a 3.79 ERA, but the underlying numbers show just how dominant he was. He walked just 1.8 per nine as well as an incredible 10.5 per nine and he hasn't skipped a beat this year. In just 2.1 innings, he hasn't walked a batter and has struck out five of the seven batters faced. Speier looks like he is ready for more work, as well as a more reliable arm that Scott Servais can call upon in 2024.

Surprise surprise... the Mariners found another solid bullpen arm

The Mariners bullpen looked gas late last year; after the Paul Sewald trade, guys were forced into more opportunities and higher leverage positions and it just wasn't the same bullpen we had grown accustomed to seeing. There was a lot of talk this offseason about adding to the bullpen, and the Mariners did quite a bit to improve it, even after losing Justin Topa.

With a bullpen of Munoz, Brash, Santos, Stanek, and a few other solid mid-leverage options, it didn't seem like the Mariners had a lot of holes there, when healthy, this might be the best bullpen the Mariners have assembled. However, with Brash and Santos starting on the injured list, there was some uncertainty about how they would fill in the gaps.

If the Mariners are good at one thing, it is finding reclamation bullpen arms and turning them into very solid relievers. We could do a whole article on just those names, but today, we focus on what looks like another hit by the Mariners: Austin Voth.

When you think about Mariner's bullpen arms, you think about high velocity, sweepers, and high spin rates. That is exactly what Voth is and the Mariners seemed to have found something. It's only been two innings, but Voth has only allowed two hits, no runs, walking just one batter and striking out four of the six outs. Even more impressive is perhaps his sweeper; it is filthy! With it being over 10 mph slower, on average than the fastball, and with a spin rate of over 2650 his sweeper is generating a crazy 66.7% whiff rate. Obviously, that won't hold over the year, but you can already tell, it's going to be a problem for hitters!