Mariners Have Incredibly Bright Future Even If They Miss out on 2014 Playoffs

The Seattle Mariners weren’t supposed to matter. Entering the 2014 season, basically no one picked the M’s to be part of the playoff picture.

Baseball Prospectus pegged them for a fourth-place finish in the loaded American League West, ahead of only the Houston Astros. That seemed fair, even generous, for a team that hadn’t won a division title since 2001.

Then the Mariners started winning. And they kept winning. Not enough to charge to the head of the pack, but enough to hang around.

As spring ceded to summer, it became clear these M’s weren’t some flash in the pan, destined to crash under the weight of a 162-game grind.

And to their credit, the Mariners have hung around to the end. After defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 7-5 Thursday night, they sit two games back of the Oakland A's for the second wild-card slot with three left to play.

Barring a miraculous finish, though, Seattle will be on the outside looking in this October. If that happens, the Mariners and their fans will undoubtedly hang their heads.

They shouldn’t. This is a club that has vaulted past all expectations. More importantly, its future is bright enough to cut through the cloudiest Pacific Northwest afternoon.

It begins with the pitching. 

Felix Hernandez is the undisputed stud and Cy Young favorite. Look at that line: 2.34 ERA, 0.936 WHIP, 230.2 innings pitched, 241 strikeouts.

JOHN FROSCHAUER/Associated Press

But King Felix isn't the only jewel in Seattle's starting-pitching crown.

Although he's hit a serious rough patch, posting an unsightly 9.35 ERA in September, 33-year-old Japanese import Hisashi Iwakuma still owns a 3.54 ERA and 1.066 WHIP in 172.2 innings pitched.

In July and August, Iwakuma posted a 2.35 ERA, while striking out 72 and walking five, leading ESPN.com's Katie Sharp to call him "easily the most anonymous ace in baseball." And the Mariners have a $7 million team option for 2015, which they'll likely exercise.

Cuban rookie Roenis Elias was another nice surprise for Seattle, posting a 3.85 ERA in 163.2 innings pitched. The 26-year-old left-hander was shut down with an elbow injury Sept. 22, per MLB.com's Greg Johns.

The M's hope he can bounce back. But his rotation replacement, touted prospect Taijuan Walker, has thrown his name back into the mix of potential impact arms.

After struggling for much of the season with shoulder issues, the 22-year-old Walker, a first-round pick by Seattle in 2010, showed why he's such an intriguing talent in a start on Sept. 24. 

With Seattle desperate for a win, Walker tossed eight innings, allowing one earned run and striking out six. Unfortunately, the offense couldn't push across a run and the Mariners lost 1-0.

Still, Walker earned the admiration of his skipper.

"I’m excited about him moving forward," manager Lloyd McClendon told Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times. "Obviously he’s taken a big step."

Speaking of big steps, another young hurler, 25-year-old James Paxton, has strutted back into the Mariners' plans.

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

After a promising start, Paxton landed on the disabled list April 9 with a shoulder strain. In June, he was moved to the 60-day DL and it appeared his season might be over.

Then on Aug. 2, Paxton came back, allowing a scant seven earned runs in his first 35 innings. He's cooled off considerably of late, surrendering nine runs in 2.2 innings in his last start on Sept. 22 against Toronto.

Like Walker, however, Paxton is a young, upside-filled arm who's under team control. 

And there's more young pitching talent in the pipeline, including Luiz Gohara and Edwin Diaz, ranked among the Mariners' top 10 prospects by MLB.com.

On the offensive side, Seattle of course retains Robinson Cano, who made good on his massive contract with a .318 batting average entering play Friday, fifth-best in the American League.

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

It's still possible, probable even, that the Mariners will be overpaying Cano in the latter stages of his 10-year, $240 million deal. For now, they're glad to have him.

They're also glad to have catcher Mike Zunino, who smacked his 22nd home run Thursday night. And third baseman Kyle Seager, who made his first All-Star team and carried a .271 batting average with 25 home runs and 96 RBI into play Friday.

Seager is on the cusp of arbitration eligibility. And, as The Seattle Times' Divish argues, it'd be prudent to lock him up:

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It would be smart of the Mariners, who have had trouble developing and finding consistent hitters, to attempt to sign Seager to a contract extension and buy out some of the arbitration years and lock him up for few extra years. It’s a logical and smart move.

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Logical, that is, for a team with an eye on contending now and into the future. A team that matters. Which the Mariners decidedly do.

All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.