Ex-reliever likes Seattle Mariners trying Hancock in bullpen

There was an interesting development for the Seattle Mariners that occurred at the minor league level Wednesday night.

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For the first time in his professional career, Emerson Hancock came out of the bullpen to pitch for the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. The right-hander ended up allowing a run on two hits and one walk while striking out a batter (watch here) during an inning of work.

Hancock, a first-round pick in 2020, had made 109 appearances at the minor and major league levels before his first relief appearance, including 15 starts for the big league club this season.

The decision to move Hancock to the bullpen appears to be a signal for the Mariners’ plans when rosters expand in September or perhaps even sooner, as they’ve dealt with struggles from the back end of their bullpen throughout the season.

During Thursday’s edition of Wyman and Bob on Seattle Sports, former Mariners pitcher Charlie Furbush shared his thoughts on moving Hancock to the bullpen, which is a subject Furbush is well-versed on as a starter who converted to a bullpen role during his playing days.

“It’s certainly an interesting theory to bring Hancock up to the bullpen,” Furbush said. “… I thought his stuff looked better than ever this year. And certainly when you look at the numbers, he’s throwing harder than he’s ever thrown.”

Hancock’s fastball velocity was already up this season during his time starting games for the Mariners, with his 94.6-mph average up 1.3 mph from last year. He even touched 97.5 mph on a four-seamer in a start.

Hancock recorded his fastest pitch as pro in his relief outing, hitting 97.8 mph on his four-seamer. The four-seamer averaged 97.4 mph, which was up 2.7 mph from his season average, per Baseball Savant. Hancock’s sinker (96.1 mph average), changeup (87.9 mph) and slider (83.3 mph) were all up at least 1.5 mph, too.

“This is just kind of true with a lot of different starters that go to the bullpen,” said Furbush, noting the difference in mentality for pitcher when he goes from throwing 100 pitches an outing to 15 to 20. “… You’re gonna kind of empty the tank, and I think what I saw last night was pretty nice. I didn’t expect to see that mid-to-upper 90s heater regularly, and (his) stuff looked sharp.”

The challenge of moving to the bullpen

The move of going from a starter to bullpen arm seems like a pretty simple one, especially considering that the overall workload is much less out of the bullpen.

However, there are some challenges that Furbush pointed out, with the adjustment from the routine-driven nature of being a starting pitcher to the unpredictable nature of pitching out of the bullpen being a major one.

“I think this will be a perfect kind of short run to get your feet wet in the bullpen and see what it’s like down there in between innings, see how you react,” Furbush said. “Because in a lot of ways, as a former starter, you’re so routine-driven. … Everything’s kind of set up.

“I would say it’s way more chaotic in the bullpen because everything is not set up and there’s no predictability to anything. You don’t know when you’re going to pitch. So, you’re kind of having to figure out, well, how do I get ready and how do I make sure that I’m always close to peaking and making sure the body’s warm?”

Furbush also noted that relievers may have to come into a game with runners on and pitch out of the stretch immediately, as well as the increased importance of throwing strikes.

“You have to come in and be dialed. So this is like a perfect time to (test it out),” Furbush said. “… I’d say he passed the eye test Round 1. … There’s always that one player that comes out of nowhere that can help the team win down the stretch, and he fills up the gap in some big innings. I think (Hancock is) a perfect guy that no one saw coming (who) could easily get some big outs when the Mariners need it.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

Ex-reliever likes Seattle Mariners trying Hancock in bullpen

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