Does anyone here love a debut?
Say what you will about it as a baseball move, but from a vibes perspective, I am all for calling up Cole Young, as the Mariners have done. There’s no better way to flush a bad week of baseball than by having something to be excited about. Young, the Mariners’ first-round pick out of North Allegheny High School in 2022, came into the season as the Mariners’ second-ranked prospect according to Lookout Landing. He’s solidified this outlet’s opinion of him in the time since, raking in AAA Tacoma after a slow-ish start. And he’ll shortly be making his MLB debut, and, yes, we love a debut.
And hey, something else to be excited about: the return of Bryce Miller, after his brief stint on the Injured List with an elbow issue. Without being more specific, he told Daniel Kramer that the team had concluded that inflammation he was experiencing was not structural; Justin Hollander later confirmed Miller has a small bone spur on his elbow that they don’t anticipate to cause further issues this season but will be addressed in the off-season. Though it’s worth noting that there appeared to some of us, myself included, to be a mental side to Miller’s early-season struggles as well, interacting with and compounding the physical issue. But he’s in good enough health to pitch today, so we’ll see what we get. Per Dan Wilson, the goal for Miller is around 70-75 pitches today.
Lineups
Young slots into the eight-spot for his debut, and Garver behind the plate while Cal takes DH duty and Polanco gets a day off. The Mariners will have to face off against Bailey Ober, who, for my money, is among the most underrated starters in baseball, consistently putting up above-average performances outing after outing to little fanfare for years now.
No Ty France for the Twins, which is surely for baseball reasons, but I’m choosing to take as a personal slap in the face. Before the game, Minnesota reinstated power-hitting Matt Wallner from the IL, and he’ll start tonight in right field. They sent down outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. to make room for him.
Game Info
First Pitch: 4:15 PT
TV: FOX Sports, which will also be on the MLB TV app and website if you’re in the roughly 99% of the country where Fox is airing Yankees-Dodgers instead. Jason Benetti and Adam Wainwright will be on the national call.
Radio: Ol’ reliable. Rick Rizzs and Shannon Drayer are both off so Aaron Goldsmith and Gary Hill Jr. will be doing the broadcast.
News
In corresponding moves to the call-up of Cole Young and activation of Bryce Miller, Leo Rivas and Casey Legumina have been sent down to Tacoma. To free up the space for Young on the 40-man, Big Will Klein has been designated for assignment.
Captain’s Log:
Dan Wilson on why the team didn’t send Miller out on a rehab assignment/the advantages of not going on a rehab assignment:
“He wasn’t out super long, so that helps, just being around our staff. And he had Logan as a guy who was also coming back, so they could help each other. We talk a lot about this pitching staff and how close they are, and how they help each other, so sometimes when you’re around each other and you’re not in a competitive situation, you’re in a little different mindset, a different perspective, and you can gain some things from that. And hopefully that’s the case for Bryce.”
Today in Mariners History
- 1998: Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr. is released on Nintendo
- 2016: The Mariners tie the club record for most runs in a single game at T-Mobile Park, with 16 against the Padres
- 2022: George Kirby earns his first career win, striking out eight at Camden Yards, one of the rare games I got to see in person, and it was a thrill. The strikeout of Cedric Mullins is imprinted in my brain forever.