Who should be Mariners’ opening day starter? Hyphen weighs in

For many years, it was never a question for the Seattle Mariners.

From 2007-2018, longtime ace Félix Hernández made all but one Opening Day start for the franchise. The King’s run as the top arm in Seattle’s rotation started as a 21 year old, and after a brief bump back to the No. 2 starter in 2008, Hernández made ten consecutive Opening Day starts. His 11 total starts in the opener are tied for the 11th most in MLB history.

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However, that decision is no longer as clear cut for the Mariners. Since Marco Gonzales replaced Hernández as the Opening Day starter in 2019, Seattle has had three different pitchers start the first game of the season. And now the M’s have a stacked rotation with five talented arms who all have the potential get the ball in Game 1 of 162, if not now, at some point in their careers.

Who should get the nod for the 2025 opener on March 27 in Seattle? Mariners broadcaster and former MLB pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith weighed in during his conversation Friday with Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy.

“It has to be Logan Gilbert,” Rowland-Smith said. “… It’s a tough one and it’s important.”

The 27-year-old Gilbert is coming off a career year in which he led MLB with 208 2/3 innings pitched and a sparkling 0.89 WHIP. He had a 3.23 ERA (14th in the majors), 220 strikeouts (sixth), made his first All-Star team and finished a team-best sixth place in American League Cy Young voting.

Touting Gilbert as the Opening Day starter over Luis Castillo wasn’t a decision Rowland-Smith took lightly. There’s a respect factor and some tradition that comes with naming the No. 1 starter. He recalled the 2008 season when the M’s gave left-hander Erik Bedard the first start over Hernández. Bedard was coming off a season in which he had just led MLB in strikeouts per nine innings with the Baltimore Orioles, but the Mariners were “Félix’s team.”

“Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, who cares? You got two guys.’” said Rowland-Smith, a member of the 2008 team. “… It was a big deal.”

It was even still a big deal in 2019 when Gonzales got the nod over a clearly past-his-prime Hernández.

Castillo has started both openers for the Mariners since he was acquired in a midseason trade during the 2022 campaign, and he also started two openers during his time with the Cincinnati Reds. Bump and Stacy co-host Stacy Rost and producer Curtis Rogers each noted they’d lean towards Castillo with his veteran presence in mind.

“I think that there are teams that sometimes still start the same Opening Day guy, especially if he’s a leader or maybe a veteran,” Rost said. “It’s like a respect thing, but otherwise I would say Logan makes the most sense.”

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Rowland-Smith sees a potential benefit in naming Gilbert the Opening Day starter.

“I think (if you) put Logan as an Opening Day starter and make it the biggest deal, that’s only gonna motivate George Kirby and maybe even motivate Luis Castillo,” Rowland-Smith said. “Not that they need extra motivation, but I’m just telling you they’re competitive. … Get that rotation cranking and they are going to be in a great spot.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

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