The Mariners team fans have been desperate for is finally showing up

If you look at the Seattle Mariners rotation as a whole for this season, it comes across as quite underwhelming, ranking 14th in ERA, tied-16th in batting average and 21st in WHIP. Even allowing for the injuries endured by 60 percent of their preferred starting five, this is little like the unit which was No. 1 in all of baseball last year statistically and arguably just overall.

However, as the rotation has gotten healthier, it's no coincidence it has also improved performance -wise. And it all came together perfectly this past weekend as Bryan Woo, Luis Castillo, and George Kirby all had stellar outings of at least 6.0 innings which contributed significantly to the Mariners sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates and recording three consecutive shutouts for the first time in franchise history.

Mariners rotation bringing back memories of last season

Woo has been Mister Consistent and durable and has deservedly been named an All-Star, while Castillo has been effective, albeit not up to the level we used to expect from him. Meanwhile, Kirby has really found his groove over his past five starts, with only Gilbert needing to rediscover his staff ace-level stuff. (In addition, Bryce Miller is scheduled to return from injury at some point this month.)

However, as alluded to with the weekend series shutout sweep of the Pirates, the Mariners bullpen has also been nails behind the phenomenal Andrés Muñoz and Matt Brash, along with the tremendous Gabe Speier. To really encompass the turnaround in general, look no further than the following breakdown courtesy of FanGraphs, which ranks the M's pitching through June 11 and then since June 13:

Now yes, at 48-42 the Mariners are one game worse off compared to the same point last year, but this is extremely encouraging when you consider how the pitching struggled collectively earlier this season. They are now effectively the 2024 version of the pitching staff, but with a better overall offense compared to last season.

We appreciate the offense can be frustrating at times, particularly at T-Mobile Park, but it still beats last year's lineup which ranked 21st in scoring, 22nd in OPS and second-worst in batting average. Compare this to 2025, with the Mariners ranking tied-13th, tied-12th and 14th in the respective categories as of Tuesday morning.

Mariners aiming for a playoff spot after a two-year absence

Of course you can go deeper and further break down the statistical analysis of the Mariners, for better or worse, but as of right now we like the look of the team and the direction it's headed in. This is supported by their playoffs odds by FanGraphs which stood at just 44.8 percent on June 12, but have now risen to a healthy 72.9 percent heading into Tuesday night's road series opener versus the New York Yankees.

We realise the critics will be just waiting to pounce — in fact we know there will already be those pointing out the Mariners being 6.5 games out of first place in the AL West, to an injury-hit Houston Astros roster. Again though, this is an M's team which is headed in a positive direction and while a playoff spot is by no means a guarantee, they should at least be in the mix come September.