There’s not a lot to like on the Mariners, aside from Felix Hernandez.  First, they had a putrid offense last year, so putrid that it nearly cost Felix Hernandez the Cy Young because he had so few wins.  

Think of it this way, Felix had an ERA of 2.27; Phil Hughes, the leader in run support at 9.6 runs per game finished the season 18-8, just imagine Felix’s record with a couple more runs a game.  

The rest of the rotation leaves you saying “Um, and he is…?”  The only recognizable name is Erik Bedard, so we’ll move onto him.  Well, he hasn’t pitched since July of 2009 and he’s had three shoulder injuries over the last three years, limiting him to 164 total innings, so he should be plenty rested.  

Jason Vargas quietly had a decent season, on a team that could score more runs he probably would’ve been middle of the road.  He managed to have a 3.78 ERA, but his 5th worst run support left him with a 9-12 record.  He does play at the pitcher friendly Safeco Field, plus he proved to be durable, but his strikeout totals are low, so even with more wins he’s not going to be a world beater.

I feel like a broken record, Doug Fister suffered from the lack of Seattle run support.  His ERA of 4.11 wasn’t terrible, he only issued 32 walks in 28 games, but he only strikes out one batter every other inning.  

There is no established fifth starter. David Pauley, a career minor leaguer looked solid over his last five starts of 2010, posting a 3.41 ERA.  But as a career minor-leaguer you can’t expect much from him this season.

Another possible fifth starter is Luke French, he made 13 starts last year and posted a 5-7 record with a 4.83 ERA; he didn’t strike anyone out and allowed an alarming number of homeruns.  So, it won’t take much to knock him out of the 5th spot.

The most likely outcome is that some combination of Pauly and Fister keeps the 5th spot warm until mid-season when the Mariners will call up top pitching prospect Michael Pineda.  He finished last year in Triple-A, where he had 76 strikeouts in 62 1/3 innings.  He has a live arm that tops out at about 97 mph, while Seattle has little reason to rush him; they also have ample room in the rotation to let him grow up on the big league roster like Felix Hernandez before him.  He probably won’t start the season on the major league roster, but watch him as a waiver wire pick-up in midseason. 

Written by Chris Summers exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com

or for Free Fantasy Sports Advice use our Quick Fix to get help with your team!