The Mariners' Staff is the Most Efficient Group in All of Baseball

We knew that the Seattle Mariners' pitching staff was talented, but they are also wildly efficient, according to this interesting metric.

May 30, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Logan Gilbert (36) throws against the Houston Astros during the second inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports / Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

We already knew that the Seattle Mariners' pitching staff was crazy talented, but they are also crazy efficient according to this post on social media from @CodifyBaseball:

Average # of pitches thrown per game this year:

136 SEA
137
138
139
140
141 LAD
142 ARI ATL
143 STL KC MIL DET
144 BOS CLE
145 PIT WSH TOR PHI OAK
146 MIN NYY SD BAL TB
147
148 CIN CHC
149 TEX SF
150 COL LAA
151 MIA
152 HOU
153 CWS
154 NYM

Average # of pitches thrown per game this year:

136 SEA
137
138
139
140
141 LAD
142 ARI ATL
143 STL KC MIL DET
144 BOS CLE
145 PIT WSH TOR PHI OAK
146 MIN NYY SD BAL TB
147
148 CIN CHC
149 TEX SF
150 COL LAA
151 MIA
152 HOU
153 CWS
154 NYM

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) June 1, 2024

So the Mariners' staff throws fewer pitches per game than any staff in all of baseball, which is excellent news in terms of not overusing pitchers and trying to keep guys healthy. Furthermore, the M's don't throw a lot of extra pitches, which is beneficial for multiple reasons:

They're tied for the fewest walks issued in all of baseball (138), which means they don't have to throw those extra pitches, and don't have to do it under duress, which also helps keeps guys healthy. It also proves that they do a good job of going right after opponents and trusting their defense to make plays behind them.

Furthermore, the Mariners are 11th in strikeouts recorded, which is good, but they aren't forced into constant long at-bats for the sake of pursuing the strikeout. This also keeps pitch counts down and allows guys to go deeper into outings.

With Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo, the Mariners have one of the most talented starting staffs in all of baseball, but this efficiency metric also proves that the sometimes-maligned bullpen does a good job of attacking hitters for the most part also.

The Mariners enter play on Friday at 32-27 overall and in first place in the American League West. They'll take on the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday at 4:15 p.m. PT.

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