SeaSide Thoughts: Hey Mariners, Spring Training is over, right?

At least the pitching staff will sav…

Oof, this week was arguably the worst we've seen the Seattle Mariners rotation in the past few years.

Luis Castillo has continued a very concerning trend, going back to his disappointing September last year. Through two games, Castillo is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA. In 10.2 innings, Castillo has allowed 16 hits, 8 earned runs, and 2 home runs. Which has resulted in an ERA+ of 53 so far. When you add in last year's brutal ending, this is starting to look like a concerning trend. A bounce back in a pivotal series opener at Toronto today feels like a must right now.

George Kirby is going to have a great season, but he did not have a great day on Wednesday. In Seattle’s embarrassing 8-0 loss to the Guardians, Kirby had arguably his worst outing of his career, going just 3.2 innings while giving up 8 runs on 10 hits. Some of those hits can be deceiving (we'll get to that), but when you absolutely need a win early in the season, you need to trust in Castillo and Kirby (even Gilbert as well, who struggled in Milwaukee) to right the ship. They all failed to do so.

All is not bad

Bryce Miller absolutely dazzled in Seattle's line win at Milwaukee, going 7 shutout innings, striking out 7, and giving up 3 hits on just 78 pitches. He's still growing and learning how to be a pitcher instead of a thrower, but Saturday was a peak into why Seattle has been so hesitant to trade him for a young bat. He silenced a hot Milwaukee lineup like Paul Atreides in Dune.

This team has a chance to be great. The goal is to get to October, because we believe the rotation could carry this team to a World Series. I still believe that, but the rotation has to stand up while the offense is trying to find itself.