WASHINGTON D.C. -- If you remember back in December of 2025, we had Seattle Mariners right-hander Alex Hoppe on the 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast. Hoppe had just been traded to the Mariners from the Boston Red Sox and came over as an intriguing arm who needed some more seasoning to improve his control. 

Well, on Sunday afternoon in Washington D.C., MarinersRoundtable had a chance to talk with Hoppe in the clubhouse at Nationals Park about his first month and a half in the big leagues.

The righty has appeared in 17 games, pitching to a 5.40 ERA, but he has flashed solid stuff for the M's. With upper-90s fastball velocity and a solid slider, he's struck out 22 batters in 20.0 innings.

Here's a portion of that conversation. The full conversation is available here.

I mean, learning a lot, just from the game, how the game's managed and stuff, both in terms of the pitching side and baserunning and hitting stuff, but then also like bullpen management. Like leverage situations, non-leverage situations, trying to save guys for tomorrow and keep guys fresh and stuff, like, you really don't get that in the minors in general because it's more about development and such.

But up here, I mean, winning is the only thing that really matters. So it's cool to see that and learn all the strategies that go into that.

I think the biggest thing I learned is that guys up here still swing at sliders in the dirt and fastballs at their eyes.

Now you still have to be in the zone and stuff, just like in the minor leagues, but they still swing at the same pitches, and you can still get the guys chasing in the same way that you can in the minors.

I could also learn that they hit mistakes way farther too up here and stuff, and they're really good. But at the end of the day, just as the organization was telling me when I was first traded over here is, like, my stuff plays in the big leagues. I can still strike guys out, get guys out up here, just like I was doing in the minors.

I mean, the dude is phenomenal. To be 20 years old, multiple times thought about, okay, 'picture myself when I was 20 years old. Could I do what he was doing?' And I don't think I could. I wasn't ready for it.

So it's just awesome to see his maturity both on and off the field, and the fact that I get to see him both on and off the field in my daily aspect and training and stuff is awesome.

I mean, the dude rakes, and he's gonna be playing this game at a high level for a long time, and it's awesome to see and be a part of.

Changing time zone sucks.

The time zone thing is the big thing for me because I've never even been to the West Coast before getting traded to Seattle.

So the big thing is these time zone adjustments, jumping time zones, trying to get as much sleep as I can and stuff, because it kind of messes with your cycle a little bit and those routines that you maybe have established before.

So it's prioritizing sleep a little bit more.

The latest episode of the 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast, featuring interviews and footage from the M's last series against the Washington Nationals is out now. You can listen here, or you can watch on YouTube below.

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