Mariners' Emerson Hancock: Will begin season as fifth starter

Hancock will open the regular season as Seattle's No. 5 starter, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports.

There was little doubt Hancock would be able to win the job, given the lack of other candidates on the roster, but he solidified himself after allowing just one run on four hits and one walk with four strikeouts in Wednesday's Cactus League game against the Rangers. George Kirby (shoulder) is not expected to rejoin the Mariners until mid-April, setting up Hancock to make a handful of starts to begin the campaign. "He's really had a good camp. I think he's really taken a step forward here," manager Dan Wilson said. Even so, the 2020 first-rounder's fantasy upside could still be restricted, considering Hancock fanned a lowly 14.7 percent of the batters he faced over 60.2 innings in 2024.