Newcomer #3: Gabe Speier
I’m not one to tell you I told you so, but well. So I’ll leave this here. I’ve been on the Gabe Speier hype train since Dipoto claimed him off waivers from Kansas City in November. This team needed a southpaw in the pen with the amount of lefty power bats in the AL West (Alvarez, Lowe, Ohtani, Seager, Tucker). Despite a strong spring, the diminutive lefty started the year in Tacoma, but he’s here now.
The traditional stats don’t jump off the page, but the spin on his 4-seam fastball (2295) and horizontal break on his sinker does (19.0). He also features a changeup and a slider. By the way, Speier is elite at getting what Mariner play-by-play announcer, Aaron Goldsmith calls, "silly hacks." He is NUMBER ONE in the entire MLB in chase rate percentage.