Drayer: 3 things standing out early at Mariners camp

Spring training is off and running with the Seattle Mariners now in the midst of Cactus League action.

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Here are three quick things that have jumped out at me from Mariners camp after my first (partial) week.

The buzz

This camp feels massive. The 77 players in big league camp are supplemented by a staff at least three times that size that makes the camp feel even bigger. It has been the usual six-ring circus. With work taking place in every corner of the batting cages, covered pitching mounds, Fields 1 and 2, weight room and meetings room, it would make near impossible to find anyone if not for the detailed daily work schedules that are posted on video boards outside the clubhouse entrances. Even with that, after four days in camp, there are still key players and staff members I have yet to find myself within 20 feet of, which is unusual. Downtime is not a thing in this camp. The activity has been constant.

The crowds

A new sight has been the long, but quick-moving lines to get onto the practice fields when the gates open each morning. Part of this is likely because of the timing with Seattle-area school kids out for mid-winter break, but part of it clearly is enthusiasm for the team after winning the division in 2025. The Cactus League opener saw a record crowd in the stadium in Peoria on Friday. And Sunday at Goodyear Ballpark, the Mariners seemed to have as many, if not more, fans in the stadium than the Reds.

The pitching

Seeing all five rotation members together again going through their work after the struggles to stay on the field last year was a very welcome sight. In January, Logan Gilbert told us on The Hot Stove Show he missed all the pitching conversations he would have with his rotation mates during the season and that he had to make due with phone calls instead. He appears to be getting his fill now as Gilbert has been seen watching nearly every starter bullpen or live batting practice session, chatting with those around him. This is not a small thing. The Mariners rotation has been a tight-knit, collaborative group the past three years and part of that was lost last year with the absences due to injuries.

The other pitching story has been the show Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan have put on early in camp. It is impossible not to notice the Mariners’ top two pitching prospects and the excitement around them, which in some ways is a little strange seeing that the Mariners’ established rotation is still very much a force. The stuff with both is one thing, but the poise is perhaps even more eye-opening. Anderson has never thrown in a professional game and Sloan has only just turned 20. This should be very interesting to follow as camp progresses.

Coming up this week, Brock and Salk will originate from the back porch of the Mariners’ spring training complex starting Monday morning.

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Seattle Mariners top pick Kade Anderson throws dazzling live BP
• Watch: Mastrobuoni hits Mariners’ 1st grand slam of the spring
• Notebook: Mariners prospect ‘stole the show’ in Cactus League opener
• How Seattle Mariners’ reunion with Mitch Garver came together
• Drayer: Seattle Mariners give a different first impression this spring

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