Felix Hernandez plans to make next start for Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners received a scare last week when ace Felix Hernandez took a comeback shot to the hip and was forced to exit his start early. To their great relief, Hernandez does not expect to miss any additional time.

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Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune writes the following about the status of the man known as King Felix:

"Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez acted surprised Monday when asked whether his bruised right hip might prevent him from making his next scheduled start Friday at Boston.“What?’ he barked. “I’m good!”"

Well alright then.

With a Mariners team that is still 13th in the league in runs, the power of their pitching staff will continue to be their key to success. Hernandez is the guy who sets the tone for the rest of the pitching staff.

One of the few true aces in all of baseball, Hernandez has been incredible once again in 2014: he is 13-4 with a 1.99 ERA, 185.1 innings pitched, and 9.6 K/9. Hernandez has a WAR (wins above replacement) of 6.0, which is good for third in the American League behind only Mike Trout and Josh Donaldson.

Translation: Hernandez will likely win the Cy Young award no matter what, but if the Mariners reach the playoffs, he might have a case for the MVP award if not for the presence of that Trout fella.

Entering Tuesday’s action, the Mariners find themselves tied with the Detroit Tigers for the second wild card berth. Teams have officially reached the point in the season where each and every game is crucial. As such, any missed start by Hernandez would have been a big blow to the Mariners. They will presumably be that much happier to see their guy back out on the mound on Friday.

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