Gabe Speier is flashing career-high velocity on the mound for our Mariners, hitting an insane 97.8 mph on his fastball, but the crazy part is his underlying stats are somehow at an all-time high for all the wrong reasons. After struggling through April with shoulder inflammation that landed him on the Injured List, Speier has returned to the Emerald City with a gorgeous 2.05 ERA. You’d think that means he’s lights out, right? Not so fast, M’s faithful. His xERA, FIP, and SIERA, the stuff the analytics geeks drool over, are all sitting at career-worst marks for his time with us. It’s a total head-scratcher!
Speier’s Arm is Pumping Pure Gas
Seriously, this dude’s arm is ON FIRE. Since coming back from the IL, Speier has been absolutely pumping. In his first game back on May 26, he was at a solid 94.4 mph, right around his career average. But then it just kept climbing! The next game saw him at 95.3, then 95.8, all the way up to an absurd 97.8 mph by June 21. He’s tossed the two fastest pitches of his entire career, and nine of his ten fastest have come in the last four weeks alone. His sinker isn’t far behind, also hotter than it’s ever been. You hear him talk about it, and he sounds as surprised as anyone, saying, “Mostly just feeling good, I’d say.” No special training, just feeling good and unleashing rockets. We all saw the difference a couple of extra ticks made between his breakout 2023 (95 mph) and the step back in 2024 (93 mph) where health was the issue. Seeing him at 96+ mph is just plain tantalizing, making you want to stand up and cheer at T-Mobile Park.
So Why Aren’t the Results Matching the Velo?
Here’s where it gets wild: Despite all that newfound velocity, Speier isn’t dominating like you’d expect. He’s only striking out 16.7% of the batters he’s faced since returning from the IL, and his walk rate is a concerning 9.3%. It’s like he’s got all the power in the world but just can’t quite harness it. One theory out there is that the Mariners aren’t using his four-seamer as much as last year, even though it worked so well for him despite being slower. And look, some people will point fingers at his World Baseball Classic appearance, but Speier himself shuts that down, flat out saying, “I felt really good in spring. I felt really good in the WBC.” Honestly, my gut tells me it all started with that impulsive haircut he got before the season. He went from looking like a Waffle House line cook holding it all together to some super cleaned-up, military-style look. It just clashed with his lefty reliever energy, and I swear those bad April results were because of it. Now his hair’s growing out, and the power’s back, we just need the results to follow.
The Cincinnati Reds felt the wrath of our pitching staff in a big way, getting shut out 8-0 in the last game, but as we look ahead, the real challenge for Speier is turning this incredible velocity into consistent, dominant outings. We need him to find that groove, command that electric fastball, and help us rack up more Ws.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Lookout Landing.
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