The Seattle Mariners will have one of the best starting rotations in the American League and they have an awesome closer in J.J. Putz. With that in mind the only question will be…..can they score enough runs this season? The answer to that will be yes as Jose Lopez and Richie Sexson will rebound with the bat in 2008. Take the over as the Mariners will win at least 90 games this season.

The Mariners have a very expensive, good starting rotation set up for the 2008 season as all five of the projected starters won at least 10 games in the majors last season. 29-year old lefty Erik Bedard will be the ace of the pitching staff after coming over in a big trade with Baltimore in the off season. He started 28 games for the Orioles last season and he was 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He also whiffed 221 batters in 182 innings pitched. If Bedard stays healthy he will be one of the favorites to win the Cy Young Award this season.

22-year old righty Felix Hernandez will slide into the #2 starter role for the Mariners this season and that should lessen the pressure on him a little bit this season. He started 30 games for the Mariners last season and he was 14-7 with a 3.92 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Look for his numbers to be much better than that this season.

37-year old righty Miguel Batista had a solid first season for the Mariners despite putting way too many batters on base. He pitched in 33 games (32 starts) for the Mariners last season and he was 16-11 with a 4.29 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. Batista needs to attack hitters more because he has good stuff. If he throws more strikes he will win more games than he did last season.

29-year old righty Carlos Silva was given the big bucks in the off-season for the Mariners. He started 33 games for the Mariners last season and he was 13-14 with a 4.19 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. Silva should benefit from Safeco Field as he is a strike thrower.

33-year old lefty Jarrod Washburn started 32 games last season for the Mariners. He was 10-15 with a 4.32 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Look for him to pitch better in 2008 with the Mariners to have a better team around him.

28-year old righty Cha Seung Baek will likely be the first pitcher recalled if anything happens to the top five starters of the Mariners. He pitched in 14 games (12 starts) for the Mariners last season and he was 4-3 with a 5.15 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.

33-year old righty knuckleballer R.A. Dickey will also likely get a chance at some point for the Mariners in 2008. He pitched in 31 games (22 starts) in AAA ball last season and he was 13-6 with a 3.72 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors in 2006 with the Rangers. He has pitched in 77 games (33 starts) in his major league career and he is 16-19 with 2 saves, a 5.72 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B+

31-year old lefty swinging Brad Wilkerson will try to win the RF job in spring training. He played in 119 games with the Rangers last season and he was 79 for 338 (.234 avg, .786 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 20 homers and 62 RBIs. He also whiffed 107 times which is way too many but that’s the kind of hitter he is. Wilkerson played 19 error-free games in RF last season for the Rangers while showing off impressive range. Look for Wilkerson to hit better than he did last year in 2008.

23-year old righty swinging Wladimir Balentin could force his way into at least a platoon job with Wilkerson in RF. Balentin played in 3 games for the Mariners last season and he was 2 for 3 (.667 avg) with a double, homer, run scored and 4 RBIs. He also played in 124 games in AAA last season and he was 139 for 477 (.291 avg, .871 OPS) with 77 runs scored, 24 homers, 84 RBIs and 15 stolen bases.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C-

34-year old lefty swinging Ichiro Suzuki moved to CF from RF last season and he looked like a natural there. He played in 155 games for the Mariners in CF and he only made 1 error while showing outstanding range. He also racked up 8 assists. Ichiro played in 161 games for the Mariners last season and he was 238 (#1 in A.L.) for 678 (.351 avg, .827 OPS) with 111 runs scored, 6 homers, 68 RBIs and 37 stolen bases. Ichiro has a career batting average of .333 (.816 OPS) over his first 7 seasons in the majors. He has averaged 111.7 runs, 227.4 hits and 38.9 steals per season in the first 7 years he has played in the major leagues.

27-year old lefty swinging Jeremy Reed is likely running out of chances in Seattle. He played in 13 games for the Mariners last season and he was 3 for 17 (.176 avg, .470 OPS) with 2 runs scored. He also played in 135 games in AAA ball last season and he was 168 for 563 (.298 avg, .804 OPS) with 92 runs scored, 13 homers, 63 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. He could be trade bait before the season starts. Reed is an outstanding defensive CF.

28-year old righty swinging Charlton Jimerson made quite a splash with the Mariners last season. He played in 11 games for the Mariners last season and he was 2 for 2 (1.000 avg) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer, 1 RBI and 2 stolen bases. He also played in 99 games in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 109 for 387 (.282 avg) with 54 runs scored, 23 homers, 74 RBIs and 35 stolen bases.

Willie Bloomquist can also handle CF if the need arises for the Seattle Mariners.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: A+

36-year old lefty swinging Raul Ibanez has been a true late bloomer for the Mariners. He played in 149 games for the Mariners last season and he was 167 for 573 (.291 avg, .831 OPS) with 80 runs scored, 21 homers and 105 RBIs. Ibanez did make 6 errors last season in 131 games in LF while showing below average range, but he did rack up 10 assists from the outfield. Look for Ibanez to have another good season in 2008.

26-year old righty swinging Mike Morse could get some P.T. in left field this season. He played in 9 games for the Mariners last season and he was 8 for 18 (.444 avg, 1.056 OPS) with 1 run scored and 3 RBIs. Morse also played in 81 games in rookie + AAA ball last season and he was 93 for 306 (.304 avg) with 50 runs scored, 6 homers and 41 RBIs.

25-year old lefty swinging Bronson Sardinha is a long shot to make the Mariners for this season. He played in 10 games for the Yankees last season and he was 3 for 9 (.333 avg, .750 OPS) with 6 runs scored and 2 RBIs. He also played in 124 games in AA + AAA ball last season and he was 110 for 444 (.248 avg) with 62 runs scored, 15 homers, 74 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.

Willie Bloomquist can also handle LF defensively if the Mariners need him there.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B