Emerson

Hancock

It’s good to see Hancock again missing bats, but his early spring velocity bump is mostly gone now; he averaged 95.1 mph with his fastball today, barely up from the 94.9 mph he came in at last year. Hancock is the likely choice to step into Seattle’s rotation with Bryce Miller likely to open up on the IL. That’s make him a possibility at the end of AL-only drafts.

Miller was told “not to push through if he felt anything at all,” so it’s unclear how much discomfort he felt, but the fact that he felt any is not a great sign. He is still cleared to play catch, so it’s nice that he isn’t fully shut down from throwing, but it’s just hard to trust him in fantasy drafts right now. Miller will almost assuredly miss the start of the season, which opens up a spot in the rotation for Cooper Criswell or Emerson Hancock.

Hancock breezed through the first inning, but struggled to locate in the second frame. The 26-year-old held his own in 2025 while filling in for a host of injured Seattle starters, but is all-but-assuredly ticketed for the bullpen or a trip to Tacoma to begin the 2026 campaign.

Hancock gave up two hits, walked none and struck out seven. The 26-year-old right-hander started in place of the injured Bryan Woo. Hancock threw 51 pitches over four innings to start the game. He should be more of a bullpen option as the Mariners advance to the playoffs.

This would have been Bryan Woo’s slot before he was hurt last time out. The Mariners claimed the AL West last night and have a bye all but locked up, but they still have their sights on the top seed in the AL. Fortunately, they shouldn’t need to be at their best tonight against one of the worst teams ever assembled.

Hancock is going to pitch out of the bullpen in his latest promotion to Seattle. The right-hander has seen his fastball reach 99 mph with regularity in shorter stints, and the stuff should play better in relief than it did as a starter. He’s a potential high-leverage option someday — although starting isn’t completely out of the picture — but for now it’s likely he won’t see those types of chances.

Hancock heads back to Triple-A after a mediocre — at best — start against the Royals where he allowed five runs over six innings. The Mariners could recall Logan Evans as a starting option before the All-Star break, but also could operate with a four-man rotation for a bit due to off-days. Hancock has shown flashes of being a solid starting option, but there are just too many clunkers to trust him at this stage of his career.

A double and a base hit brought a run in to score for the Royals in the first inning. Hancock gave up two more runs in the second on a walk, two hits, and a groundout. He kept the Royals off the board until the fifth, with Salvador Perez driving in two runs on a double. Hancock hung in for one more inning before his day was done after six with one strikeout. The 26-year-old right-hander will take a 5.47 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and a 53/30 K/BB ratio across 77 1/3 innings into a start against the Pirates in Seattle on Sunday.

Hancock was shellacked for four homers and nine runs in his previous start, so this was a marked improvement. It also helped he wasn’t pitching in a windstorm like he did against the Cubs, but the stuff looked better. Unfortunately, he got a goose egg of run support, and a two-run homer by Trevor Larnach was enough. Hancock’s 5.30 ERA is a bit misleading as it’s mostly based on two horrific starts, and he’ll be back on the bump against the Royals on Tuesday.

Hancock had a forgettable outing at Wrigley Field on Saturday. Ian Happ and Kyle Tucker took him deep for a pair of solo homers in the first inning. Chicago would bring four more runs in to score in the second, including two on a second homer by Happ. Michael Busch would make it nine runs with a three-run blast in the third. Hancock would hang in for one more inning before ending his day. He struck out five. The 26-year-old right-hander sees his ERA balloon to 5.43 with a 1.43 WHIP and a 50/24 K/BB ratio across 66 1/3 innings. He’ll take on the Twins in Minnesota on Thursday.