The Mariners top pitching prospect started for the Mariners on Friday against the Cubs. Emerson Hancock allowed 6 runs on 5 hits, walking one and striking out 3. Time to look at what went wrong for the 24-year-old right hander.
First inning:
Hancock faced Nico Hoerner to open his outing. Hancock started out with a Sinker, that Hoerner fouled off. He followed it up with a Slider down and away, which Hoerner chased for strike two. After a 4 Seamer up, he tried another Slider down and away, which Hoerner did not chase time. Hoerner lined the Change-up on 2-2 to third, which third baseman Moore made a diving catch on. Good pitch, good hitting, good play by Moore. One out.
Seiya Suzuki lined a 0-1 Change-up past the shortstop for a base hit. The Change-up hung in the middle of the plate, which Hancock paid for. One on, One Out.
Hancock showed his talent in his at bat against Bellinger. He got ahead with a Fastball, which he followed with 2 good Sliders. One under the bat down and in, the other far enough inside, that Bellinger could only hit it foul. He struck Bellinger out on a nasty Sinker that ran nicely back into the strike zone. The Maddux ”special”. Two outs
Swanson walked after 4 straight balls for Hancock, to put runners on first and second with two outs facing Garrett Cooper. Hancock got a generous call on an up and away Fastball. Hancock tried another Fastball, which was on the outer part of the plate. However, Cooper did well to take that pitch the other way for a 3-run homerun.
Former First rounders against each other as Hancock faced Dom Smith. Hancock threw some nice moving pitches in this at bat. He got ahead with a Sinker and Change-up, before striking out Smith with a 1-2 Fastball up and in the zone. 3 outs.
A first inning, which could have ended up differently. He was inconsistent with his control, but the pitch to Cooper was actually not a bad pitch. Credit to Cooper there. The Bellinger at bat was a tremendous sequel of pitches, to get a very good hitter looking.
Second Inning:
Hancock started his second inning, facing Yan Gomes, as he got ahead 0-2 with two Fastballs. After a Change-up outside, he came back with the same pitch where the previous pitch was intended (most likely). Gomes swung over the Change-up down for the strikeout. One Out.
Canario got the count in his favor 3-0, before swinging over the Sinker. The next pitch was a fastball up and away in the zone, which Canario topped on the ground to third for an infield hit. Unlucky there for Hancock.
Shaw hit a 1-1 pitch deep to right center, which was misplayed by Clase into an RBI Triple. It was a hanging Slider on the outside corner. However, to me it was a ball that Clase should have tracked down. He got a bad route and couldn’t make up for it. 4-2 Cubs.
With a runner at third and one out, Hancock faced Nico Hoerner again. Hancock got to 1-1, before Hoerner got under a Change-up that stayed in the middle of the plate. Hancock got lucky there as Hoerner didn’t do damage on a bad pitch. 2 Out.
Hancock broke the bat of Suzuki, who dropped in front of the center fielder Clase. Fastball got in on the handle of the bat, but Suzuki was strong enough. It was the last pitch Hancock threw. An inherited runner scored later in the frame, to give up his 6th run of the afternoon.
Conclusion:
While I believe Hancock got a little bit unlucky in this outing, he was inconsistent with his control. He left a couple of pitches middle-middle, which hitters didn’t do damage on. Still, you see the stuff Hancock has. To me his Slider was his best pitch, which was dominant in his brief stint in the majors too. His control of his Change-up was the main issue in my view as he left it high or middle a couple of times. With the top 5 the Mariners have; Hancock will likely not make the rotation. However, if an injury occurred, we would likely see the tall lefty in the majors.
