Seattle Mariners Young Ace on Track to Lead Baseball in Awesome History Over Last 22 Years

Bryan Woo is doing things we simply haven't seen since advanced stats started being tracked.

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryan Woo (22) throws a pitch against the Detroit Tigers in the second inning at Comerica Park on Aug 14. / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryan Woo is on track to make some incredible baseball history this season.

Per a great story from Adam Jude of the Seattle Times:

Through his 19 starts this season, the 24-year-old right-hander has thrown a strike on 73.8% of his first pitches. Over a full season, that’s the highest first-pitch strike rate of any MLB pitcher — starter or reliever — in FanGraphs’ database, going back to 2002.

Bryan Woo is throwing first-pitch strikes at a greater rate than any MLB pitcher (starter or reliever) since at least 2002, per @fangraphs data.

On Woo's growing confidence and growing belief in the Mariners' core pitching values: https://t.co/FUkJP6SkAH

— Adam Jude (@A_Jude) September 14, 2024

Woo's ability to pound the zone and get ahead of hitters has been huge for the Mariners this season. It's also been huge for his confidence and personal development. When you can get ahead of hitters like he does, you can dictate terms of an at-bat. It keeps hitters off-balance and allows Woo to set up everything he wants to do over an at-bat, which includes using his devastating sinker and a developing changeup/sweeper arsenal.

The 24-year-old Woo has gone 8-2 this season with a 2.38 ERA. He pairs with Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Luis Castillo and Bryce Miller to make up the best starting rotation in the sport. Woo recently carried a perfect game into the seventh inning of a start on Wednesday against the San Diego Padres.

He's "only" made 19 starts this season because of early season elbow problems that kept him on the injured list. Furthermore, he had a hamstring issue that sidelined him at the end of June.

The Mariners will be back in action against the Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon. Woo will pitch in the next series against the New York Yankees.

RELATED SEATTLE MARINERS CONTENT:

NEW PODCAST IS OUT: The latest episode of the "Refuse to Lose" podcast is out as Brady Farkas talks about the meaning of the M's loss on Thursday to the Texas Rangers and the dominance of Bryan Woo on Wednesday against the Padres. He's joined by Joe Doyle of the "Over Slot" podcast to talk about the M's roster and looming issues, and then he talks with Kevin Kugler of FS1, who was on the call for Woo's start. CLICK HERE:

GRIFFEY HISTORY: Saturday marked the 34 year anniversary of Ken Griffey Jr. and Sr. hitting back-to-back home runs against the California Angels, making baseball history. CLICK HERE:

POOR MARCO: The season is officially over for former M's ace Marco Gonzales, who had been playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. CLICK HERE:

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