Emerson Hancock will be at the center of one of the bigger storylines to watch for the Seattle Mariners over the final month of the season.
Seattle Mariners’ prospect Colt Emerson has first two-homer game
With the Mariners attempting to breakthrough for just their second playoff berth since 2002, Hancock has been converted from a starting pitcher to a reliver for the stretch run to bolster Seattle’s shaky bullpen.
After making 15 starts in the majors and nine more in Triple-A, the right-hander made a pair of appearances out of the bullpen recently for Tacoma, which included throwing the fastest pitch of his career at 99.1 mph in his second outing.
The Mariners called Hancock up before their series finale with the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, but he has yet to make his MLB relief debut. That very likely will come this weekend in Cleveland when Seattle faces the Guardians in a three-game set starting Friday.
Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz, who was a starter in the Atlanta Braves’ great rotations of the 1990s before having multiple years of success as a closer, will be on the call during the FOX television broadcast of Saturday’s Mariners-Guardians game. He also joined Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Friday to share what it’s like converting to a bullpen role and some of the misconceptions about it.
Smoltz had plenty of success converting to the bullpen following Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2000 season, but he isn’t necessarily of fan of how often he’s seeing teams have guys bounce back and forth between starting and pitching in relief.
“It’s not even close to being fair. I had 2,400 innings as a starter before I went and on my own became a reliever that ended up being a closer,” Smoltz said. “… It’s not that easy, and I know everybody thinks that we’ve got this robotic, Strata-O-Matic baseball player they can plug in place. … But when you’re taking a young man who has no experience and you just transition his stuff, it’s a whole different routine – the preparation, the mindset, the adrenaline, everything about it.”
Ex-reliever likes Seattle Mariners trying Hancock in bullpen
Smoltz feels having to make the transition multiple times can greatly hinder a player’s development. However, he also thinks there are cases that call for the switch, which includes the one the Mariners are in right now.
“I call it de-developing greatness. You suffocate the growth of a pitcher,” he said. “And I’m not talking about when there’s a need like right know. When the team is in need of something, that’s totally different.”
When asked what his analysis will be on the broadcast if Hancock pitches while Smoltz is on the call Saturday, he had this to share: “I think the first words are going to be, ‘this is going to be a great 30-day trial.’ It’s 30 days of learning on the job, and seeing what he can do and having a scenario that plays out where there’s going to be time to figure out how this thing’s gonna work. When you have this kind of arm and this kind of dynamics, you’re gonna find things out.”
Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
More on the Seattle Mariners
• Suspension reduced for Mariners’ Victor Robles, will start immediately
• Seattle Mariners’ Ryan Bliss starts rehab assignment in Triple-A strong
• These are the Seattle Mariners’ top candidates for September call ups
• Salk: Four important developments as Mariners hit the stretch run
• Mariners’ Josh Naylor on T-Mobile Park: ‘I think it’s a hitter’s park’
