Rest of MLB put on notice as Mariners dominate starting pitcher rankings

Stop us if you've heard this one before — actually, maybe don't — but the Seattle Mariners have arguably the best rotation in all of baseball, as evidenced by last season's stunning productivity. When it was all said and done in 2024, the M's starting five was first in quality starts, innings pitched, ERA, WHIP, fewest walks, and opposing team batting average.

There is a growing sentiment that Major League baseball is witnessing the slow death of starting pitching, with teams relying more on shorter inning counts by starters and using more relievers. Dating back to 1998, starting pitcher WAR for the past three seasons is ranked 24th, 26th and 23rd respectively by FanGraphs.

Yet here you have the Mariners, continuing to champion the cause of starting pitching and doing a pretty darn good job of it. Further, you know the M's are in an excellent position when last year's fifth option in the rotation was arguably their best starter by the end of the season.

Mariners rotation in a unique position in The Athletic's rankings

In this respect, The Athletic's rankings for MLB's top 50 pitchers (subscription required) makes for extremely encouraging reading if you're in Seattle. All five of the Mariners' default starters were included in rankings, as compiled by Andy McCullough, Will Sammon, Sahadev Sharma and more.

In other words, while the Mariners have around three percent of the league's starters, they account for 10 percent of The Athletic's top 50. In fact you can make it sound even better, in so much as the Mariners' fab five were all ranked in the top 40 by The Athletic.

We begin with Bryce Miller who is the lowest at 'only' No. 39, which should worry opposing teams. He led all Mariners starters with a 3.4 WAR last season and, according to Sports Info Solutions, a 95 mph heater which was the third-most effective fastball behind only Zack Wheeler and Tarik Skubal.

Next up is Bryan Woo in a tie for 30th. He is the youngest member of the Mariners rotation at 25 years of age. Last season, he led all M's starters in win-loss percentage and ERA, while his 0.898 WHIP was just off Logan Gilbert's Major League-leading 0.887. The only real concern about him is if he can remain healthy.

Can Luis Castillo bounce back for the Mariners?

Luis Castillo is coming off his worst campaign in Seattle, which also saw him become the least effective member of the Mariners' preferred starting five. In addition, the organizationconsidered trading him during the offseason. To top it all off, he was recently replaced by Gilbert for the Opening Day assignment after two seasons in the role.

Despite this, it is encouraging that Castillo has still been ranked as MLB's No. 20 starter by The Athletic, which tells you all you need to know about his talent level. At the same time, however, there is the question of if he can stabilize, or if the combination of his age (32) and more injury issues will see him continue to trend in the wrong direction.

On the subject of injuries, George Kirby — who is ranked 12th — will begin the 2025 season on the injured list with shoulder inflammation, although on Tuesday he said he is hoping to be back by the middle of April. Whenever he does return, the Mariners will be expecting more of the exceptional command which has seen him lead the Majors in strikeout-to-walk ratio in each of the past two seasons.

The cream of the crop for the Mariners

Finally we come to Gilbert, who is at No. 9 and proclaimed by The Athletic's panel as the "best pitcher in the sport's best rotation." He's one of the game's most durable starters, as evidenced by a Major League-high 208.2 innings last year, with one scout also being impressed by his ability to limit base runners so effectively.

If you want to play devil's advocate, it could be pointed out that none of the Mariners' rotation was included in The Athletic's top two tiers (out of five), but this really does seem like being unnecessarily picky. They are the only team to have all five starters ranked in the top 50, followed by the Los Dodgers with four and the Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres and New York Yankees with three apiece.

As last year proved, the Mariners need to see more from their lineup. Otherwise, it could be a case of three successive seasons missing out on a postseason berth. However, the rotation is at least going to keep the team in contention for a playoff spot, with The Athletic among those endorsing one of the premier starting pitching staffs in the Majors.

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