What happened to Jarrod Washburn? For his first eleven seasons, he was a low strikeout pitcher with good walk numbers and not too many home runs allowed. Nothing great, but more than good enough to win on a good team. He joined the Mariners and his numbers declined, mostly likely due to age. He’s come out like gang busters in 2009 however. For his career, he’s averaged 5.4 K per nine innings, this year 7.3 K/9. He’s walking a batter every five innings. He’s only allowed one home run in 21 innings, 9.5 per 200 IP.

Jarrod worked on his change-up over the winter. It appears the deception is working. If it continues, that gives the Mariners three solid starters which makes their rise in the AL West more likely to continue.