The Seattle Mariners have released the starting probables for the the first week of spring training.
The schedule gets going Wednesday with the annual ‘charity game’ against the San Diego Padres whom they share the Peoria Sports Complex with. Spring training then moves into full swing in the following week.
Here are the starters for the first Mariners in the first five games.
- Wednesday vs. Padres — James Paxton
- Thursday vs. Padres — Nate Karns
- Friday at Brewers — Taijuan Walker
- Saturday vs. Angels — Wade Miley
- Sunday at Rangers — Hisashi Iwakuma
Usually pitchers throw about 30-35 pitches in the first start, or equal to two innings, which is standard procedure right off of the bat. Pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre came up with this first order.
“It’s all [Stottlemyre’s] plan to work back from Opening Day and try to make sure everybody is in a good spot,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “The key with starters is obviously to get them stretched out and let them build upon their pitches and innings.”
These five starters are a bit of a sneak peak into what the starting rotation could look like, but obviously Felix Hernandez is not in there. Hernandez will likely get his first outing in the second batch of starters.
The Mariners have a few guys already penciled in to the starting rotation on Opening Day, but there is also a group fighting for the remaining spots in the starting five. We will get a look at a few of those guys right off of the bat, with Paxton, Karns and Walker most likely having to fight for two spots.
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