Michael RuckerSEA · RP

2026 review

Michael Rucker was a long reliever for SEA who racked up strikeouts but leaked runs, a 5.56 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 43.2 IP over 37 games, with a 26.9 K% and a 9.1 BB% over 186 BF, 6 HR allowed, and just 1 W against 4 L. He signed a minor league contract Jan 8 and had his contract selected Jun 11, then carried the bulk of the Seattle long-relief innings through the summer: 7.1 IP over 7 games in Jun, 13.1 IP over 12 games in Jul, 11.1 IP over 10 games in Aug and 11.2 IP over 8 games in Sep. Undrafted in NFBC drafts, he finished 912th of 1472 in the TDK LABS 5x5 value rank, 586th of 811 pitchers and 452nd of 575 relievers. His 5.56 ERA ran 1.64 above his 3.92 xERA over 186 BF, and the swing showed in his months, a 2.70 ERA in 13.1 IP in Jul against a 10.32 ERA in 11.1 IP in Aug. The TDK LABS card had him as pure long-relief depth with no save or hold path in mid-Jun, and by early Sep it was pointing at the gap between his ERA and his underlying contact numbers.