Seattle Mariners

Felix Hernandez / RHP / starter

It may seem like Felix has been around forever, but he’s just 25 years old, and only beginning to hit his prime. His success starts with his fastball that can touch 100 mph. Felix will typically pitch in the low to mid-90s however, getting some amazing sinking action with his 2-seamer. He likes pitching inside to right-handed hitters, burying that 2-seamer under their bats. Felix has been improving his secondary pitches and can snap off two different breaking balls. His slider is very hard, and usually much sharper than the curve, but they both get nasty downward movement. Over the last two seasons, Hernandez has made the biggest strides with his changeup. The Venezuelan will throw this pitch to RHs or LHs, often preferring it over his slider or curve.

King Felix is now the proud owner of his first Cy Young Award, which he took home after leading the American League in ERA, Innings, and Games Started in 2010. 8/12/11

[fastball(91-99), changeup(84-90), slider(85-87), curve(78-84)]


Tom Wilhelmsen / RHP / closer

Wilhelmsen is a hard-throwing, back-packing, beer-pouring right-hander from Arizona. He can bruise the catcher's hand with his 95 mph gas and miss bats with his plus curveball. However, Wilhelmsen also has bouts of wildness and appears best suited for short stints out of the bullpen.

Tom is famous for taking five years off from baseball to tend bar and travel the world. Good move. He kept his arm fresh and is now closing games for Seattle. 7/31/12 CSJ

[4-seam fastball(95-98), curve(77-79), changeup(88)]

Chance Ruffin / RHP / starter

Son of former major leaguer, Bruce Ruffin, Chance followed a similar path to the show. Both pitched at the University of Texas, where they became high draft picks. Chance is a right-hander however, and slings his pitches to the mitt. His fastball gets some tailing action, while his slider sweeps across the hitting zone. Chance was a closer in college and was drafted to fill that role in the future. 9/7/11

[fastball(90-94), slider(79-84)]

Oliver Perez / LHP / reliever

Oliver's stuff has always looked good, it's the results that are usually poor. He had a phenominal season in 2004, when he fanned 239 batters in just 196 NL innings. Unfortunately, the rest of his career has been spent trying to recapture just a little of that success, culminating in his disgraceful tenure with the New York Mets. Perez' walk rate was off the charts, and in 2010 Perez was so pathetic that the Mets placed him in the bullpen and let him rot for weeks between appearances.

Oliver is back with Seattle now, and may have found a positive role in a major league bullpen. He's firing his fastball in the 92 to 95 mph range again and spinning his plus sweeping slider. If the Mariners organization could turn this guy around, it would be nothing short of a miracle. 7/31/12 CSJ

[fastball(92-95), slider(79-83), splitter, curve, changeup]