Seattle Mariners: 2016 Season In Review
The Bad
SP Felix Hernandez (1.0 fWAR, 153.3 IP)—Mighty King Felix just had the worst season of his career. He had a 3.82 ERA, but his underlying numbers suggest he was lucky to have an ERA that low. His FIP was 4.63. He saw his strikeout rate drop for the second year in a row and his walk rate went up for the second year in a row. The two things a pitcher has the most control over are strikeouts and walks and Felix had been among the elite in both of those areas in the past. Two years ago, King Felix struck out 27.2% of the batters he faced and walked just 5%. That difference in strikeout percentage minus walk percentage was sixth-best in all of baseball for pitchers who qualified for the ERA title. He was among the elite, right there with Max Scherzer and Madison Bumgarner. Last year, he slipped to 23rd in K%-BB% for starting pitchers. This year, he was 71st among the 84 pitchers with more than 150 innings pitched. It’s been a mighty fall for the King. His fastball velocity is down two miles per hour from 2014 and batters are making more contact with his pitches than they used to. This could be an aberration. He dealt with a calf injury that had him in a walking boot for part of the season. He may bounce back next year, but he will also be 31 years old and has 2,415 innings on his odometer. This could be the beginning of Hernandez’ decline years.
SP Taijuan Walker (0.9 fWAR, 134.3 IP)—Taijuan Walker’s year was a disappointment, but there could be a legitimate reason for this. He left his start on June 14 with an injured foot. At the time, he had a 3.69 ERA and had struck out 22.5% of the batters he’d faced. Those numbers look good, but a high rate of home runs allowed contributed to a 4.63 FIP. Walker made three more starts before being placed on the Disabled List with an injured foot. It was reported at the time that Walker had a bone in his foot that was too long and would likely need surgery. He took a month off and came back to pitch in August, but was hit hard in his first five starts. After coming off the DL, Walker had a 5.21 ERA (5.44 FIP) and struck out 18.1% of the hitters he faced. It was a big decline. He recently had surgery, so Mariners fans can hope that he’ll return healthy and productive. One of the real problems Walker has had over the last two years has been a propensity for allowing home runs. He’s now given up 52 home runs in 304 innings over the last two seasons. Only four starting pitchers have allowed more home runs per nine innings in that time than Walker (minimum of 250 innings pitched). The Mariners have long had high hopes for Walker , but he has yet to put up a consistently good season. He’ll be 24 in 2017, so there’s still time for him to figure it out, but the Mariners’ need it to happen sooner than later.
RP Steve Cishek (0.9 fWAR, 64 IP)—Cishek’s overall numbers were not bad, but he had a memorably awful couple games at the end of July and the first of August that cost him the closer’s role. He finished the year with 25 saves and a 2.81 ERA (3.57 FIP). He also had the second best strikeout rate of his career (29.5%). There was plenty to like about his season. Unfortunately, he also had seven blown saves and struggled against lefties, which has been an issue for him during his career. He recently had surgery to repair a torn hip labrum and will miss four to six months before he can return to baseball activities, which will likely impact the start of next season.
SP Wade Miley (0.6 fWAR, 112 IP)—The Mariners acquired Wade Miley in an offseason deal with the Boston Red Sox. They hoped he would be a solid starting pitcher for them. He did start 19 games for the M’s, but his 4.98 ERA (4.76 FIP) was not what the Mariners were expecting. The Mariners traded him to the Orioles on July 31 for Ariel Miranda.