The Seattle Mariners have called up top prospect Taijuan Walker to make his season debut against the Houston Astros and he will be the starting pitcher for the M's on Monday and this comes as the team is in wild card contention and if he stays healthy, they may avoid trades for players like Alexi Ramirez, Jeff Samardzija, Jason Hammel or David Price at the deadline.
The Mariners have been playing much better than anyone expected this season and halfway through the major league schedule, the team is in the playoffs as a wild card team. The Mariners are trying to make the playoffs for the first time in over a decade and they haven't had a record over .500 since 2009 and Walker coming up is a big deal for the team. Walker is the top prospect in the organization and he was expected to be in the starting rotation to open the season, but he had an injury setback and now he takes over for Erasmo Ramirez, who has been very inconsistent this year in the rotation.
The Mariners have been pitching very well this season with Felix Hernandez having probably his best year, while Hisashi Iwakuma, Roenis Elias and Chris Young have been very solid, but the number five starter has been an issue for the club, as they are under .500 in games by the fifth man in the rotation. The Mariners got blanked by the Indians on Saturday, but they came back and returned the favor on Sunday, with Felix Hernandez and he looks like he will be the starter at the All-Star game.
Walker is the fifth best prospect in baseball and he comes in after pitching a complete game in the minors and he comes in 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA after making three starts last year in September. This year he is 2-1 with a 4.11 ERA in six starts after having a setback in April and now he is ready to get into the rotation. Walker went nine innings with eight strikeouts and four hits and his return is very anticipated and James Paxton also hopes to join him soon after continuing his rehab after a setback as well. Walker and Paxton are the top two pitchers in the organization and adding them to a rotation with Felix Hernandez could really put the Mariners in position to make the playoffs.
