Seattle Mariners Make Big Decision at Minor Leagues Which Could Impact AL West Race

It looks as if the Seattle Mariners have their injury replacement for Luis Castillo.
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Emerson Hancock (62) pitches to the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at T-Mobile Park on July 6.
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Emerson Hancock (62) pitches to the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at T-Mobile Park on July 6. / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
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The Seattle Mariners made a major decision at the minor league level this week which looks like it could have a major impact at the major-league level.

Per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times on social media:

Emerson Hancock has been scratched for his scheduled start tomorrow with Tacoma.

By getting scratched, it looks as if Hancock will come up and take the place of the injured Luis Castillo in the Mariners starting rotation. Jhonathan Diaz could have been an option, and there was an outside chance that Logan Evans could have come up from Double-A Arkansas.

Castillo was recently put on the injured list with a Grade-2 hamstring strain.

The Mariners have not listed a starting pitcher yet for Friday night against the Texas Rangers, so the M's could slot in Hancock there and then give Logan Gilbert an extra day of rest.

At this point, every game is critical so the M's need Hancock to come up and be productive against an underwhelming but still potentially good Texas Rangers lineup. The Mariners enter play on Thursday at 74-72 and 3.5 games back of the Houston Astros in the American League West with 16 game to play.

The 25-year-old Hancock has been solid in two different tenures with the M's this year. He began the year in the rotation for the injured Bryan Woo and also made a spot start in June. He's 3-4 with the Mariners and owns a 4.76 ERA.

In Triple-A, he's 7-3 with a 3.43 ERA over 17 starts.

The Mariners and Rangers play on Thursday night at 6:40 p.m. PT.

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