Mariners' best players, moments from April

This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer’s Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

HOUSTON -- The Mariners put a bow on their first month-plus of the season earlier this week, going 17-13 and ending April in sole possession of first place in the American League West.

It was an odd month, at least from how bleak it started to how promising it ended, beginning with Seattle’s sluggish offensive start, continuing with a marginal turnaround and ending with its dominant pitching drawing attention across the Major Leagues. May will present even more challenges, with a tougher schedule and just one off-day between Friday and June 2.

Yet, before looking ahead to May, here’s one final look back at the top performers and highlights spanning from Opening Day through the end of April on Tuesday.

Starter: RHP Logan Gilbert

A strong case could also be made for Bryce Miller, who nearly matched Gilbert in most statistical categories but was just behind. Gilbert led Seattle’s starters in ERA (2.03), WHIP (0.80) and OPS against (.532) while ranking second in innings (40) and strikeouts (44) to Luis Castillo (41 2/3 innings, 49 strikeouts). The Mariners went 4-2 in Gilbert's starts and probably could’ve done better with more run support in his outing on Sunday.

Reliever: LHP Gabe Speier

Speier surrendered just one earned run in 10 2/3 innings (0.84 ERA) while racking up 15 strikeouts and holding hitters to a .422 OPS. His leverage opportunities grew greatly down the stretch last year, but they’ve reached even more prominence early in 2024, as he’s been on the mound in some of the Mariners’ toughest jams and against some of the game’s toughest hitters -- none bigger than on April 25, when he struck out Corey Seager with the tying run on third base to end the seventh inning in a 4-3 win over the Rangers.

Hitter: 3B Josh Rojas

Rojas has been the Mariners' most pleasant surprise, but also their most consistent hitter. He tallied a hit in all but five of the 22 games he played in April and led the team with a .318 batting average, .408 on-base percentage and .530 slugging percentage (min. 65 at-bats). He’s also taken on a more significant role atop Seattle’s lineup with J.P. Crawford on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain. Rojas made some significant swing adjustments after being acquired at last year’s Trade Deadline, but he’s said that it’s a more polished approach at the plate that’s led to his success in ‘24.

Unsung contributor: RHP Trent Thornton

Thornton quietly put together one of the most productive Aprils in baseball, leading Mariners relievers and ranking tied for 16th in the Major Leagues with 0.4 Wins Above Replacement, per FanGraphs. Before surrendering one run in his final outing of the month, he’d been scoreless in 10 straight appearances, Thornton has also seen a rise in strikeouts, with a 23.9% K rate in April.

Pitching highlight: Kirby’s 18 whiffs

George Kirby might not have been the Mariners’ best starter of the opening month, but he turned in the rotation’s best performance, with a career-high 12 strikeouts in Saturday’s win over Arizona. He was a swing-and-miss specialist with his four-seam fastball, which generated 18 whiffs, which is the Majors’ most this season on the pitch. Only one other pitcher, coincidentally Castillo, had more in a single outing last year.

Hitting highlight: Garver walks off Braves

Mitch Garver knows he’s been in a funk after signing a two-year, $24 million contract this past offseason, which is why he showed such exhalation in a bat flip after crushing a 412-foot, walk-off homer against the Braves on Monday. It was all the sweeter given that the win preserved a stellar start from Miller, after Seattle was no-hit into the eighth inning.