Seattle Mariners: The M’s most important player in 2022 is…
Logan Gilbert (Andrew)
Logan Gilbert needs to continue his development. If Seattle really wants to be more than a borderline wild card team, they’ll need better pitching. I’m not confident that Robbie Ray can have another Cy Young level season or that Chris Flexen can repeat what he did last year. Someone will have to step up, and it should be Gilbert.
In a perfect world, Ray will still be an above-average starter, and Gilbert can ascend into the number two role. With those two at the top, Marco Gonzales would be on the higher end of third starters, and if Flexen does regress, it won’t be as potentially catastrophic for the rotation. There’s every reason to believe Gilbert will have a breakout season which gives Seattle one of the best rotations in the league.
Logan Gilbert had full command of his arsenal today en route to a career-high 9 K’s. pic.twitter.com/aCbT5maJnw
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 18, 2021
Chris Flexen (Joe)
Chris Flexen came out of nowhere to put up a top 50 starting pitcher performance in 2021. He’s not going to light up a radar gun, and he won’t have an astronomical K/9 ratio. The Mariners need him to be consistent and potentially the #2 to separate the power lefty from the finesse lefty.
Flexen got a decent contract based on his work in Korea for the KBO. Ultimately though, his consistency last year made him a reliable resource, and the Mariners will need that again if they are going to compete for a playoff spot in 2022.
Related: There should be more M’s prospects in Top 100
Who do you think the Seattle Mariners’ most important player in 2022 is? Let us know in the comments section below.