Emerson Hancock's transformation has given Mariners a good problem to have

There are various angles to Emerson Hancock's transformation as a steadying force in the Mariners' starting rotation.

The actual, physical angle of his right arm is an important one, and maybe the most obvious. No right-handed starting pitcher in MLB releases the baseball at a lower arm slot than Hancock. The change has been drastic and effective.

Less obvious is another type of release, a hard-earned emotional freedom that helps illuminate his sudden success and could, perhaps, serve as a forecast for what's next.

"Mentally," Hancock acknowledged, "I've gotten in a lot better space."

Everything is better for Hancock these days - from his mindset on the mound, to the "stuff" coming out of his hand, to his home life as a new father - and everyone recognizes it.

"Confidence is oozing out of him right now," Mariners pitching coach Pete Woodworth said.

For good reason.

Hancock had spent the past three seasons yo-yoing back and forth from Triple-A Tacoma to the Mariners, called on when an injury popped up to another starting pitcher. He settled in to that No. 6 starter role with a 4.81 ERA in his first 37 big-league appearances. He was dependable, sure, but also expendable.

He wasn't content with that, and he made that known in a conversation with Woodworth early in the offseason.

"I don't want to be that guy anymore. I want to be a guy," Hancock told him.

He's simply been one of the best guys in baseball in the early going this season, posting a 2.28 ERA over 23 2/3 innings through his first four starts.

He has the highest strikeout rate of his career (9.51 strikeouts per nine innings) and the lowest walk rate (1.52 per nine). And among all major-league starters, he ranks in the 98th percentile in pitching run value, 98th percentile in fastball run value and 86th percentile in breaking ball run value, per MLB's Statcast metrics.

"It does take some guys a while to figure out who they are and to not give a damn anymore about what other people think," Woodworth said. "(When) they don't have to, like, put on this facade or pretend to be this guy or try to fit into this mold or be what other people want you to be or whatever.

"He finally just became comfortable with who he is."

One lesson Hancock, 26, learned the past few years is there's only so much he can control. He can prepare as much as possible and execute to the best of his ability, but once he releases a pitch he knows there's nothing else he can do. He found comfort, and freedom, in recognizing and accepting that.

"It's just about the process of throwing really good pitches," Hancock said. "It could go your way; it could go the other way. It's just a matter of staying focused and doing that consistently. Really, that's what it comes down to.

"It's a day-by-day deal … and the experience over the years has made me a better player and a better person."

***

Back in his native Georgia, Hancock was intrigued as he watched Atlanta ace Chris Sale pitch a gem against the Mariners last September. Sale, a left-hander, had always thrown with an extremely low arm slot.

What stood out to Hancock, though, was the extreme nature of Sale's stance on the rubber, starting on the far third-side of the rubber, and then throwing with a cross-body delivery.

Hancock wondered aloud to Woodworth if he should try something similar (but on the other side of the rubber). Pitching out the Mariners' bullpen at that point, Hancock started experimenting with those tweaks immediately, lowering his arm slot and standing far to the first-base side.

In 2024, Hancock had an arm slot at 27 degrees. This season, he's morphed into a sidearmer, dropping his release point to 13.2 degrees. Among MLB starters, only Sale's 10.6-degree delivery is lower.

Hancock described the lowered slot as more natural for him.

"Being loose, feeling free, being athletic," he said. "It's just like it feels really good and recovers really well. So I like it."

Having transformed his setup and his delivery, Hancock worked with Woodworth this winter to transform his repertoire.

In the past, Hancock had relied heavily on a sinker (two-seam fastball) and a changeup. This year, he's leaned on a four-seam fastball and a sweeper slider, to great effect.

As Woodworth described it, he had given Hancock two options over the winter - one of two paths he could explore.

1. Lean into your old identity as a sinker-changeup pitcher and seek contact.

2. Revamp your arsenal and chase more swing-and-miss.

"I wanted him to choose one of them," Woodworth said. "He chose both."

Hancock continues to pitch to contact - more than ever, really. He ranks No. 1 among all MLB starters with a first-pitch strike of 75.3%, a cherished measurement in the Mariners' organizational philosophy of controlling the strike zone.

He also made a slight grip change on his four-seam fastball during spring training, allowing that pitch to ride up and in on right-handers more effectively. He's been up to 97 mph with his four-seamer this season, and he's averaging 95.5 mph over his last three starts with it.

Then there's his sweeper, which averages 77.9 mph and 16 inches of horizontal break. He has allowed only one hit off his sweeper out of the 100 times he's thrown it, across 17 plate appearances.

"It's really hard (for a hitter) to cover 97 and 77," Woodworth said.

***

How long will Hancock stick in the rotation?

It's a question that will gain more traction, and attract more scrutiny, the closer right-hander Bryce Miller (oblique) gets to returning from the injured list.

But it's not a question the Mariners are willing to engage just yet, at least not publicly.

"There's one thing that I never lay awake night not being able to sleep thinking about, which is if we have too many good starting pitchers," general manager Justin Hollander said. "It's not a thing that happens to almost anyone."

Miller had his first start for Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday evening, starting the 30-day clock on his rehab assignment. Hollander said the club's plan is for Miller to use that full 30-day window.

Come mid-May, the Mariners will then make a decision.

Would they consider a six-man rotation? Would they bump Hancock to the bullpen? Or someone else from the rotation?

"We haven't made any decisions on that whatsoever," Hollander said." And God bless us if it is a problem that we have 30 days from now."

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