Passan: Hancock could open new doors for M’s — including SP trade

There’s still plenty of season to go, but the Seattle Mariners have to like what they’ve seen from Emerson Hancock early on.

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After getting a spot in the opening day rotation due to another’s starter injury for the second straight year, Hancock has allowed only one run, six hits and one walk over 12 2/3 innings pitched. He’s struck out 14 batters and trailed only Bryan Woo in terms of innings pitched by a starter in their first two starts of the season.

And in his first start, he pitched six no-hit innings of a shutout ball against the Cleveland Guardians.

Hancock’s promising start has come after a couple of key adjustments. The right-hander is pitching from a lower arm angle this year. His release point of 13 degrees is the sixth-lowest in MLB, according to Baseball Savant. It was 18 degrees last year and 27 degrees two years ago. Hancock has also found success while featuring his sweeper more often, a pitch he’s using 24.6% of the time compared to just 3.2% last season.

ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan has taken notice of the former No. 6 overall pick’s strong start to 2026.

“It’s just a couple of starts at this point, but they’ve been really good starts,” Passan told Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Tuesday. “I think the version of Hancock that we’re seeing now is like the version that we thought we could see when he was drafted, but not the version that when he was ascending through the minor leagues, I anticipated. I thought Emerson Hancock was a No. 5. He is not pitching like a No. 5 right now. He’s pitching like a good mid-rotation starter, and the fact that there could be more if this becomes a consistent thing is a great sign for an organization that already has five good starting pitchers.”

The more Passan is referring to is top Mariners pitching prospects left-hander Kade Anderson and right-hander Ryan Sloan. Anderson, the No. 3 overall pick in last year’s draft, is Seattle’s No. 2 prospect and No. 18 in all of baseball, per MLB Pipeline. Sloan, a 2024 second-rounder, is the organization’s No. 3 prospect and No. 3 league-wide. Both had solid spring trainings, recently made their Double-A debuts and have shot at reaching the majors at some point this season.

If Hancock continues to impress and Anderson and Sloan stay on track with their developments, Passan thinks it could put the Mariners in an interesting situation with their starting pitching.

“It opens up a world of possibilities for the Mariners, some of which are exciting: the idea of potentially moving a pitcher to get some more help with the bats or get some more help in the bullpen or wherever it is that you want to upgrade,” Passan said. “But it’s also a little scary because George Kirby and Logan Gilbert, in particular, are getting closer and closer to free agency, and you wonder if one of these guys who’s been as seminal as both of them have to this rise of the Mariners is going to suddenly become a potential trade candidate.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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