Mariners first quarter grades: A wild assortment of success and failure

Mariners Starting Rotation: 2024 1st Quarter Grade: A-

This is the highlight of the season so far for the Mariners. If Bryan Woo had been able to stay healthy and start with the big league club, this would likely be an A, especially if he pitches like he did in his two starts so far this season. Emerson Hancock got lit up while he was here, and despite some starts that looked good, his underlying numbers were anything but, and it made sense to send him down.

Bryce Miller has gone ahead and turned the Mariners' big three into a big four, showing that he is a force to be reckoned with after learning the splitter. In 2023, lefties hit .303/.358/.558 off of Miller. In 2024, that number has gone to .133/.220/.333. He didn't have a great start against the Orioles, but Miller has more than nearly anyone could've expected.

Castillo, Kirby, and Gilbert have been the three headed monster we all wanted, with Castillo really finding his groove as of late. With his most recent outing against the Orioles, Castillo has now thrown seven straight outings going 6+ innings while allowing two runs or less. If that's the Castillo we are going to see for stretches this season, it's going to be an incredibly fun year.

The only reason we didn't go with an A here were because of some of the rough starts that we saw early, and the failures from Emerson Hancock. A- from your starting staff, especially with the high expectations, is gladly taken every day of the week.