Emerson

Hancock

Hancock heads back to Triple-A after a mediocre — at best — start against the Royals where he allowed five runs over six innings. The Mariners could recall Logan Evans as a starting option before the All-Star break, but also could operate with a four-man rotation for a bit due to off-days. Hancock has shown flashes of being a solid starting option, but there are just too many clunkers to trust him at this stage of his career.

A double and a base hit brought a run in to score for the Royals in the first inning. Hancock gave up two more runs in the second on a walk, two hits, and a groundout. He kept the Royals off the board until the fifth, with Salvador Perez driving in two runs on a double. Hancock hung in for one more inning before his day was done after six with one strikeout. The 26-year-old right-hander will take a 5.47 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and a 53/30 K/BB ratio across 77 1/3 innings into a start against the Pirates in Seattle on Sunday.

Hancock was shellacked for four homers and nine runs in his previous start, so this was a marked improvement. It also helped he wasn’t pitching in a windstorm like he did against the Cubs, but the stuff looked better. Unfortunately, he got a goose egg of run support, and a two-run homer by Trevor Larnach was enough. Hancock’s 5.30 ERA is a bit misleading as it’s mostly based on two horrific starts, and he’ll be back on the bump against the Royals on Tuesday.

Hancock had a forgettable outing at Wrigley Field on Saturday. Ian Happ and Kyle Tucker took him deep for a pair of solo homers in the first inning. Chicago would bring four more runs in to score in the second, including two on a second homer by Happ. Michael Busch would make it nine runs with a three-run blast in the third. Hancock would hang in for one more inning before ending his day. He struck out five. The 26-year-old right-hander sees his ERA balloon to 5.43 with a 1.43 WHIP and a 50/24 K/BB ratio across 66 1/3 innings. He’ll take on the Twins in Minnesota on Thursday.

The 26-year-old right-hander punched out four batters on the afternoon. Hancock was in complete command from start to finish in this one. Both of the hits that he allowed were singles and at no point in the ballgame did the Guardians even have a runner touch second base against him. Two of the three runners that did reach were erased on double play balls. Hancock got 11 swings and misses on 85 pitches on the day — four each on his changeup and slider — while registering a CSW of 25 percent. He’ll look to build off of this brilliant start as he brings a 4.48 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and a 45/21 K/BB ratio (62 1/3 innings) into Saturday’s tilt against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Hancock allowed only two hits with one walk, and he struck out six in one of his best start of his short MLB career. The right-hander made just one mistake, but it was a hanging breaking-ball that Adley Rutschman clobbered and prevented Hancock from factoring into the decision. Hancock’s ERA is still 5.19, but that mark doesn’t speak to how the 26-year-old has pitched for the majority of 2025. He’ll get the Diamondbacks on Monday.

Hancock shut down the Nats’ offense for five innings, but he issued a couple of walks in the sixth, and both came around to score on a James Wood double after Hancock had left the game. His ERA is still at 5.64, but much of that damage came in a start where he gave up seven runs over a third of an inning against the Tigers back in April. Hancock will stay in the rotation until Logan Gilbert returns, and that includes an outing against the Orioles on Wednesday.

Two of the runs came on a homer by Isaac Paredes that would have only been a homer in Houston or Boston, and had an expected batting average of .060. The right-hander did allow nine hits, but he pitched solidly for the most part while not issuing a walk and striking out three. Hancock will lose his rotation spot when Logan Gilbert gets back, but for now, he’ll stay in the rotation and face the Nationals next week.

Hancock allowed six hits, but he walked just one with three strikeouts. He was able to get Manny Machado to strike out with the bases loaded for his final out of the game, and while he doesn’t qualify for a win, it’s a nice rebound from his struggles earlier this week against the Yankees. Hancock still has an ugly 6.21 ERA, but the bulk of the damage came in two atrocious starts against New York and the Tigers. The Mariners have not set their rotation for next week yet, but he could go in the four-game series against the Astros.

Hancock had been pitching well since his disastrous first outing against the Tigers, but this was more inline with that outing than his recent starts. He allowed three homers — two to Trent Grisham — and the biggest blow was a three-run blast to turn a decent start into an ugly one. Hancock also allowed eight hits and walked four, and this was an unfortunate reminder of a less-than-spectacular floor. He’ll try and right the ship again Sunday, but it’s another touch matchup on paper with the Padres in San Diego.