Blake Snell has been a big topic of discussion here at SoDo Mojo and among all Mariners fans, bloggers and podcasters. As I wrote last week, there may not be a more unique free agent pitcher than Snell.
The Seattle native reportedly wants to become a Seattle Mariner and is going to run away with the 2023 NL Cy Young award. Snell went 14-9 with a league-best 2.25 ERA. He finished 3rd in baseball with 234 K’s. He gave up the 5th fewest home runs in baseball this season for qualified starting pitchers. His .181 batting average and 182 ERA are easily the best in baseball.
His numbers are staggering, but even his negative numbers are unique. No pitcher has come close to walking as many batters as Blake Snell (99 BB, 83 was #2). What makes this even crazier is the fact that Blake Snell is allergic to more than 6 innings. Honestly, the only argument people have against Snell winning his second Cy Young (will be the 7th player to win the award in both leagues). In 32 total starts, Snell has only made it past the 7th inning three times.
I understand that people might have reservations about both of those areas, but it’s also a testament to the type of pitcher he is. His stuff is downright unhittable, but that also means he’s going to miss the strike zone frequently. This might be something the coaching staff will want to see if they can help Snell a little, or if they could just let him do his job, knowing that with Luis Castillo and George Kirby behind him, the The bullpen will not be taxed.
Either way, the addition of Blake Snell puts Seattle’s rotation in a league of its own. The Mariners have always struggled to recruit superstar bats, but we saw that they were able to lock down an award-winning pitcher in Robbie Ray. Seattle may never have a two-time Cy Young winner in their prime who is also from Seattle and wants to be a Mariner again, in their backyard. In my offseason plan, we don’t waste this opportunity and we build the best rotation in all of baseball.
