#2
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#2 Hisashi Iwakuma
The M's record is 25-18 in his starts, 2013-14. That's a 94-win pace: Take one terrific starting pitcher, mix in one terrible offense, and what do you get? 94 wins, 68 losses.
He's had less life on the ball in 2014, which is understandable. Nobody mistook Hisashi Iwakuma for a guy who was going to knock people over for 5 years in a row. His strikeouts are not in the 6+ range, so if you are into Max Scherzer, Yu Darvish and Corey Kluber, then Iwakuma's approach is not going to Wow you.
WBC-san has compensated for the velo dropoff by making sure that he is even more precise:
| Season | BB/9 | K/BB | GB% |
| 2012 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 52 |
| 2013 | 1.7 (!) | 4.4 | 49 |
| 2014 | 0.8 c'mon | 7.8 | 56 |
It's something of a litmus test here: you look at a 6-7 K pitcher with 1+ BB's, or you look at a splash of ink, and do you see "impending roadkill" or do you see "Greg Maddux East"? It might be easier to appreciate WBC-san by comparing him to another Mariner legend:
| Iwakuma Season | BB | K | GB% |
| 2012 | 3.1 | 7.2 | 52 |
| 2013 | 1.7 (!) | 7.6 | 49 |
| 2014 | 0.8 c'mon | 6.4 | 56 |
| Jamie Moyer, prime years (1997-2003) | 2.3 | 5.5 | 37% |