When was the last time the Seattle Mariners had the ace of the AL West?
While Félix Hernández’s heyday is hardly ancient history, the cream of the crop has been reserved for pitchers among the league’s best. In Houston, Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, and Zack Greinke. In Texas, Lance Lynn, Mike Minor, and Cole Hamels. In Oakland, Frankie Montas, Chris Bassitt, In Anaheim, Shohei Ohtani and, well, look Ohtani’s real good. Not since 2015 have the M’s had a pitcher in the Top-10 in WAR in the American League, the last year of the King’s reign in earnest.