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Keuchel, who fired five scoreless innings for Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday during which he allowed three hits and recorded three strikeouts, could be a candidate to temporarily fill the No. 5 spot in the Mariners' starting rotation, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.
The veteran left-hander's Rainiers debut against the Bees certainly impressed, with Keuchel throwing 44 of 62 pitches for strikes. Drayer points out that with Emerson Hancock having been hit hard by the Brewers in Sunday's start and also showing decreased velocity compared to his early Cactus League outings, a decision could be made to skip his next turn in the rotation. The pitcher Hancock is currently filling in for, Bryan Woo (elbow), may not be fully ready to return when Seattle next needs a No. 5 starter April 16, leading to speculation Keuchel could be a candidate for a temporary promotion given there is an open spot on the 40-man roster for him as well.
