At 4-9, it's been a struggle so far for the Seattle Mariners. The offense and defense have both been subpar, with the M's boasting the league's lowest-batting average (.184) and defensive questions arising at third base, shortstop and left field.

However, it is certainly still early and the M's will get a chance to turn it around beginning Friday night when they open up a four-game series against the Houston Astros at T-Mobile Park (6:40 p.m. PT).

On the mound for the M's in the opener will be Emerson Hancock, who has been one of the true bright spots for Seattle thus far. The former first-round pick, who is in the starting rotation because of the injury to Bryce Miller, has gone 1-1 with a 0.71 ERA through two starts. He's struck out 14 hitters in 12.2 innings and has looked crisp and confident in everything he's doing.

He's also changed up his arsenal a bit from year's past. Hancock has dropped his arm slot, improved his velocity, and leaned into a wicked sweeper.

Speaking on the most recent edition of the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast, Mariners farmhand Casey Lawrence, who has multiple stints in the big leagues, spoke about how hard it is to re-invent yourself. Hancock is 26 years old.

"Emerson's really, really talented. That's first and foremost. You know, he was drafted in the first round for a reason. And I think anytime you're going to different levels, it takes you a little bit to get acquainted to the level, to kind of get your feet wet, to get your feet grounded.

And I think Emerson's just getting really comfortable. He's made some changes, but he's been able to always manipulate the baseball really, really well. He's extremely mature for his age, and I think those things just allow him to be really coachable.

We have an outstanding pitching department that can really push us year in and year out to find those little things that make us, you know, 1% better. I know it's a little saying, but it's those things that the guys at the elite level can do year in and year out. You don't want to be called a tinkerer, but there are certain guys that can take things, try them, see if they work. 'Okay, great, it works — all right, I'm gonna add this to my arsenal.' Or, 'okay, I tried this, it's not working for me — all right, I'm not gonna do that.'

And I think we have a lot of guys at the major league level, you know, when you look at our rotation, guys that can really, really pitch. I mean, you see a lot of guys throughout baseball now that, you know, they're throwers — they're guys that go out there and let it rip down the middle. They have unbelievable stuff. We have guys that have the stuff, but then they can pitch.

And I think that kind of really sets a guy like Emerson apart. Like I said, he's really mature, and he's always trying to get better. And I think that's something to be said for his ability to go out there and compete and give Seattle a chance to win every time he takes the ball."

As for Lawrence? He took his place in some pretty special minor league history in his first outing of the year for Triple-A Tacoma. We spoke about that too, and Lawrence will be on the mound for the Rainiers on Friday as well.

If you're interested in more on Hancock's growth and development, we also spoke with M's broadcaster Ryan Rowland-Smith earlier this week.

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