King Felix) Legit Cy Young horse - starting to laugh off many consecutive 110+ pitch games, starting to seriously enjoy his craft, now begins a stretch of 3-8 years of ERAs less than 2.50 and 250+ Ks in 220+ innings.
Erik Bedard) A little on the fragile side, but when he is pitching, he is every bit as dangerous as Hernandez. He'll never be a team leader...he does not have the right personality for it, nor the media flare, nor the ability to stay healthy for 35 starts. But he's a superstar the day he pitches.
Ichiro) First ballot slam dunk hall of famer - 9 consecutive 200 hit seasons seem almost unavoidable at this point barring catastrophic injury.
Russell Branyan) I believe we're about to see Branyan rip off 2 or 3 more 35-40 HR seasons - hopefully in Seattle blue and teal. The ideal Safeco RBI man.
Franklin Gutierrez) The best defensive player at any position at any level in any league on any continent. The fact that's also a game-changing RBI man and a potential 30 HR hitter makes him a perennial MVP candidate.
David Aardsma) I know Doc fears the implosion due to his weird mechanics, but he's made a believer out of me. Among all closers in the AL, Aardsma is third in FIP (and would be second in DNRA+ if my estimates are correct). Legit lockdown closer if there ever was one, and the rest of the Mariner bullpen has been made possible by his tremendous consistency locating his fastball away to lefties and in on righties.
Tell me you can't win a post-season series with that group of studs and I'll laugh in your face. If they can get me one more bat and maybe a little more middle infield depth, I will very VERY excited for their chances.
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