Seattle Mariners counting too much on a Felix Hernandez bounce back?

Marco ready to go?

As mentioned above, Marco Gonzales will be given a chance at the final spot in the rotation because of his lack of minor league options. He was a top-50 prospect on the Baseball America list as a minor leaguer with the Cardinals before the 2015 season. He then struggled in 2015 and missed all of 2016 with Tommy John surgery. He was effective in the minor leagues last season but had a 6.08 ERA in 40 MLB innings.

If Gonzales can’t handle a starting spot, Ariel Mirando and Andrew Moore are next in line. Miranda started 29 games last season, but his 5.12 ERA and 5.73 FIP were not impressive. He gave up an incredible 37 home runs in 160 innings. His 2.0 home runs per nine innings were the highest rate in baseball among starting pitchers with 150 or more innings.

Andrew Moore had even more trouble than Miranda with home runs. He gave up 14 in 59 innings, a rate of 2.1 per nine. He’s the youngest candidate among this group. He also has the worst projection for the upcoming season.