26-year old lefty starting pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith got a late start to his season due to injuries and a rehab assignment but he’s making up for lost time. He has started 9 games for the Mariners this season and he is 2-2 with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Rowland-Smith is pitching aggressive and missing bats as he has only allowed 45 hits in 54 2/3 innings this season. His style is very similar to Jarrod Washburn’s so he should succeed in Seattle.

28-year old righty reliever Sean White has been outstanding for the Mariners this season. White has pitched in 40 games (0 starts) for the Mariners this season and he is 2-1 with 1 save, a 2.98 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. The Mariners have been successful this season in large part because of an effective bullpen and White has been one of it’s biggest contributors.

No one could have seen this coming from Jarrod Washburn this season. After all, he had not pitched well his first three seasons in Seattle. In his first three years with the Mariners, Washburn pitched in 91 games (89 starts) in which he was 23-43 with a 4.55 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. But, this season Washburn has started 19 games for the Mariners and he is 8-6 with a 2.71 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He has been one of the best starting pitchers in all of baseball and teams have been calling about him. If the Mariners still have any hopes of making the playoffs come Friday, July 31st then they can’t trade Washburn.

Lefty Ryan Rowland Smith and righty Brandon Morrow have both pitched very well since returning from the minors where they did a small conversion from the bullpen to the rotation. These two guys combined with Felix Hernandez give the Mariners a much better rotation than the one they started with last April. Smith has started 11 games for the Mariners this season and he is 2-2 with a 3.44 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Overall, Smith has pitched in 46 games in which he is 4-3 with 2 saves, a 3.39 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Morrow has started 4 games for the Mariners this season and he is 1-2 with a 4.70 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He almost no-hit the Yankees in one of his starts as his stuff is that good. Morrow has now pitched in 44 games for the Mariners this season and he is 2-4 with 10 saves, a 2.72 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He has whiffed 67 batters and only has allowed 34 hits in 59.2 innings this season for the Mariners. The Mariners will definately have a different look next season with Smith and Morrow helping the rotation out big time.

Improved control has made Brandon Morrow a dominant reliever for the Mariners. Morrow has replaced the injured J.J. Putz as the Mariners’ closer and he’s been lights out. Morrow has pitched in 30 games for the Mariners this season and he is 1-1 with 6 saves, a 0.67 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP. He has only allowed 13 hits in 26.2 innings this season for the Mariners while whiffing 37 batters. But the key to his success has been his improved control as he has only walked 8 batters this season. As long as he keeps throwing strikes Morrow will be a dominant reliever for the Mariners.