Seattle Mariners Starters' Adjustment in Mentality Yielding Great Results

SEATTLE — Last year, the Seattle Mariners starting rotation was unable to be the best version of itself. To no fault of the five of Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Luis Castillo and Bryce Miller.

Kirby, Gilbert, Miller and Woo all missed varying amounts of time with respective injuries.

With those varying ailments, results were mixed for the rotation. Woo made his first career All-Star game; Miller and Kirby ended up posting the highest single-season ERAs of their respective careers. Gilbert also took a step back with a slight uptick in his ERA and decrease in games and innings pitched.

That would have been a hard season for any rotation to get through. For a group of pitchers that entered the year considered one of, if not the best rotation in baseball — the fact that a lot of the struggles were out of the hurlers' control due to injuries made it more frustrating.

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Logan Gilbert walks off the mound during a game against the Miami Marlins on April 25, 2025, at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. | Steven Bisig/Imagn Images

This year, the rotation entered the season mostly healthy (with the exception of Miller, who's out with an oblique strain) and with a newfound focus. Multiple members of the rotation declined to compete for Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic to get a full spring's worth of preparation for 2026.

"It's good to have everybody healthy right now," Kirby said after his start against the Houston Astros on Friday. "The potential for all of us, it's just endless. There's so much you learn from each guy going out there. Stuff we game plan, stuff we're always bouncing off each other. It's just cool everyone's healthy and we're all doing our thing."

In addition, the mentality of the pitchers when they've been on the mound has been noticeably more refined.

In the last three games, Gilbert, Kirby and Woo all posted quality starts of at least seven innings pitched. For Gilbert, it was his first seven-inning outing since Opening Day 2025.

All three pitchers allowed earned runs in their respective outings and have faced precarious situations where the outings could have taken a turn for the worse. If the versions of those players were in the same situations last year, there was a good chance that they would have.

So far this season, the M's starting rotation has a collective ERA of 3.45, which ranks eighth in the majors and fifth in the American League.

"I think, physically, we're all incredible pitchers," Kirby said. "But it really comes down to the mental side of the game. How you can pick your spots. Whatever goes on in your head, you just got to be able to control it. (Mental performance coach) Adam Bernero has been doing a great job with us, all that stuff, every week. I think the more and more we keep practicing our mental work and doing the things during the week to prepare us for the games, the better we'll be. We're all in a really good spot with all that stuff."

The starting rotation has returned to its elite form. And the key to whether or not the Mariners meet their World Series expectations could lie on their arms. It's still early in the season but so far, the early indications are that the rotation is prepared to do just that.

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