Bedard and King Felix: Projecting the 2009 Seattle Mariners Rotation

I’m still shocked at Bradon Morrow’s declaration to become a full-time closer for the rest of his career. Although I think this is a horrible mind-set, I can’t hold it against him forever.

Looks like some Mariners fans will just have to move on and accept his decision. The current rotation sits like this: Felix Hernandez, Erik Bedard, Jarrod Washburn, Carlos Silva, and Ryan Rowland-Smith who is replacing Morrow.

I’m going to focus on the projected performances of both Felix Hernandez and Erik Bedard in this post. Let me start this off and just say, if Felix Hernandez and Erik Bedard are able to stay healthy and pitch to their potential, they form the best one-two punch in the Major Leagues.

However it’s unlikely that both of them will reach their peak and it’s also unlikely that they’ll both be able to stay healthy.

Having two aces in your rotation is rare, and if they could somehow stay healthy, this strength could help propel the Mariners to a possible playoff berth. Yes. I said playoffs.

Felix Hernandez's currently projected ERA stands at 3.75. This is an increase from last year's 3.45, but a significant improvement from 2007's 3.92 ERA. His currently projected FIP stands at 3.61, this is a positive sign. It would mark the lowest FIP of Felix as a starter in his short career.

Felix’s main strength is his fastball. He’s tried to throw a lot of other junk the past few seasons, when his fastball would have been sufficient. He is one of the hardest throwers in the Majors, and hitters fear him.

King Felix needs to capitalize on hitters’ fears and make them pay. We all know Felix has the physical tools to dominate opposing lineups; we now wait for him to mentally dominate as well.

Once he is able to do both, his transformation into an ace will be complete soon.  He’s the face and the future of the Seattle Mariners, I think this year will be a banner year for Felix.

Erik Bedard's currently projected ERA stands at 3.51. This is better than last year's 3.91, but not even close to his 2007 ERA of 3.16. His currently projected FIP stands at 3.53.

Again this would mark a huge improvement from last year, but nowhere near his 2007 FIP 3.19. We can't accept the best Erik Bedard, but there's a strong chance he'll be better this season than he was in 2008.

We can cross our fingers for Bedard and hope for a repeat of his campaign with the Orioles in 2007. But we know for a fact that Bedard is not a 100% healthy entering this season. Does he have any trade value?

It really depends on how he performs in the first two months of the season. His early performance will also influence the Zduriencik’s overall decision to try to resign him or not. Bedard is nasty.

It’s hard to find nasty left-handers these days. He is great at mixing his pitches around and confusing hitters. In the few starts he did have last year, Bedard looked dominant.