Emerson Hancock strikes out eight in win Saturday

Hancock has been out with an adductor strain since late August. It’s going to be tough for him to make it back before the regular season concludes with just over two weeks left.

Hancock suffered the injury during Friday’s start against the Blue Jays. He’s going to miss at least a couple of weeks. It’s unclear if the Mariners will continue to operate with a six-man rotation in his absence, or if they’ll revert to a traditional five-man alignment.

Hancock remained in the contest to allow five runs over five innings after tweaking his left groin while making a diving tag in the first inning of Friday’s start against the Blue Jays. It certainly appears that the physical issue adversely impacted his performance. It sounds like there’s optimism the issue isn’t serious and that he’ll be able to make his next against the Red Sox on Wednesday. There should be a better idea of his status coming out of the weekend.

Concerningly, he struck out just one batter. Most of his improvement this year has been about raising his whiffs from 20.3 percent in 2025 to 23.7 percent in 2026 while drastically raising his strikeout rate. Hancock allowed nine hard-hit balls in this one and batters were all over both of his fastballs. Things figure to get easier next week against what’s left of the A’s in Safeco Field, but this was not the sort of start you watch and think that Hancock got unlucky in.

Hancock struck out six and walked none, but he gave up two homers in the first to account for the runs. While Hancock left with a lead tonight, it didn’t hold up, keeping him 7-7. Still, the Mariners did win in 10 to improve to 12-12 in his starts. He’ll try to get back over .500 next week against the Blue Jays.

Hancock struck out three and walked one while throwing 64 percent of his pitches for strikes and posting a 10 percent swinging strike rate. The swings and misses have dried up a bit for Hancock, and his four-seamer continues to lose vertical movement, posting just 8.3 inches of vertical break in this one. This is his third straight relatively average start in a row, and you have to wonder if Kade Anderson would be more impactful for Seattle down the stretch.

Hancock tossed a scoreless first inning, stranded two runners in the second, then surrendered three runs on four hits in the third. One of the runs would be ruled as an unearned run following an error. Riley Greene would later take him deep for a solo homer in the fifth. Hancock gave the Mariners one more scoreless frame, ending his day after six innings with six strikeouts. The 27-year-old right-hander will take a 3.33 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and a 108/29 K/BB ratio across 116 1/3 innings into a start against the Rays in Seattle on Sunday.

Passan adds that the sense is that Kirby is available and could be moved prior to Monday’s deadline. He also notes that Seattle has been listening to offer for Emerson Hancock and Luis Castillo. The Mariners have top prospect Kade Anderson knocking on the door of the majors and figure to move at least one, if not more, of their current rotation members. Kirby would net the largest return in any potential trade package, despite holding a pedestrian 3.98 ERA across 120 innings this season.

It’s fair to wonder whether Seattle will wait until mid-August to promote Anderson since that would allow him to remain rookie-eligible for next season. There will be a rotation spot open one they move on from either Emerson Hancock or Luis Castillo ahead of next week’s trade deadline. There’s a chance that both of them are on the move. Anderson has checked every metaphorical box during his professional debut with a microscopic 1.20 ERA and 119/12 K/BB ratio across 82 1/3 innings over 16 starts for Double-A Arkansas. Needless to say, Anderson should be stashed in all fantasy formats. His time is coming.

Three runs in five innings on the road against one of the game’s best offenses probably doesn’t do much for Hancock’s trade value either way. He gave up one homer, though that was hit just 95.4 mph off the bat by Andy Pages. The other runs scored on three straight singles in the third and a single, a double and an infield single in the fourth. A better third baseman than Weston Wilson might have made the play on the last hit in the fourth to prevent the run. Hancock dropped to 6-5 with a 3.26 ERA. If he stays put, he should face the Tigers next Tuesday or Wednesday.