Emerson Hancock delivers quality start versus Reds

The assumption had been if the Mariners made a move in their rotation, it would likely be jettisoning Luis Castillo. Hancock would have more value to other teams as a controllable starter who is not making $22.75 million a season. Hancock has had a breakout year, with a 3.16 ERA in his first 19 starts, with 97 strikeouts in 105 1/3 innings pitched. The Athletic’s pair of reporters believe the Cubs and Mariners could match up well in a trade, though stop short of reporting that the Cubs have engaged with the Mariners on Hancock.

Hancock was hit in the hand with a 107 mph comebacker on the first pitch of the game. He initially stayed in the game, but had to leave in the second and finished with 1 2/3 scoreless innings before his removal. Hancock told reporters after the game it was just a bruise, and he expects to be ready after the All-Star break. It’s likely that he’ll experience some significant swelling, however, so fantasy managers should be ready if the 27-year-old needs to miss time.

It’s the fourth straight Mariners game to end in a shutout, and they were on the right side of three of them. (They beat the Angels 1-0 on Thursday, lost to the Jays 2-0 on Friday and won 11-0 on Saturday.) Hancock was originally supposed to piggyback with Logan Gilbert on Saturday, but the Mariners scratched that the night before and Gilbert went out and pitched one-hit ball for seven innings. Now, Hancock has gone seven scoreless for the first time. He previously pitched six scoreless innings twice and seven innings of one-run ball once. He struck out five and generated 14 whiffs today, finishing with a 32 percent CSW. The Mariners probably won’t engage in any funny business in the rotation this week with six games in a row after the off day on Monday. Just like this weekend, they’ll likely go with Luis Castillo on Friday, Gilbert on Saturday and Hancock on Sunday against the Rays.

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, the Mariners are abandoning their ill-fated piggyback experiment with Gilbert making his usual start before Emerson Hancock takes the ball against Toronto on Sunday. It doesn’t sound like the organization has any plans to continue the unorthodox arrangement beyond the All-Star break, especially with the trade deadline looming and top prospects like Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan looking like they could pitch in the majors down the home stretch. Hopefully this is the last time fantasy managers need to incorporate the phrase piggyback into our vocabulary.

It sounds like the Mariners will continue with this odd piggybacking arrangement through the All-Star break to keep all six of their starters happy. That means George Kirby will start on Sunday with Bryan Woo set to take the ball for Tuesday’s series opener against the Marlins in Miami.

Hancock came into this one needing a good start with 11 runs allowed over his last two appearances. He delivered with a solid day on the mound, holding the Guardians to one run into the sixth inning. He scattered five hits and three walks while collecting six strikeouts. The 27-year-old right-hander will look to keep it going when he takes a 3.47 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and an 87/22 K/BB ratio across 90 2/3 innings into a start against the Blue Jays in Seattle next Sunday.

We need to come up with a better term than piggybacking. Seriously. Gilbert takes the ball for a traditional start with Hancock doing the same for Sunday’s series finale. The decision pushes George Kirby back to Monday’s opener against the Angels. The whole Mariners rotation situation is challenging to understand and remains a massive headache for fantasy managers. There have to be some changes coming from a personnel standpoint after next month’s All-Star break because this seems too chaotic to work as a strategic approach for an extended period.

Gilbert has been outstanding as of late, while Hancock has scuffled over his past two outings. The Mariners will be rotating hurlers in their piggyback situation rather than going to a six-man rotation for the foreseeable future, and it’s less than ideal from a fantasy perspective.

Hancock had a 2.70 ERA in his seven home starts this season before his latest mediocre effort tonight. He allowed a season high six runs to the Nationals last Sunday, and the five runs he gave up tonight are two more than he’d allowed in any of his previous starts in Seattle. He might be on his way to being droppable in mixed leagues, but he does have a relatively generous assignment next week in Cleveland against the José Ramírez-less Guardians.

There’s a lot to unpack here. According to Mariners general manager Justin Hollander, it was a unanimous decision by all six starters — Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Emerson Hancock, Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo — to move to a schedule where each pitcher will rotate through and have piggyback days. Ironically, the arrangement will begin with Castillo piggybacking out of the bullpen with Miller during Friday’s series opener against the Red Sox. The decision will have a significant fantasy impact simply by reducing the overall volume for each starter over the next few weeks. The unorthodox arrangement feels like a temporary stopgap solution until the arrival of top prospects Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan later this summer ultimately forces Seattle to move on from at least one of their veteran arms.