Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said Friday that he expects top pitching prospect Taijuan Walker to open the season in the team's major-league rotation, MiLB.com reports.
Walker went 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA in three starts with the Mariners late last season, and he was linked to a potential deal during the offseason that would have brought Rays pitcher David Price to Seattle, but the team decided not to part with one of the top pitching prospects in the game. He went 9-10 with a 2.93 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 160:57 K:BB ratio in 141 1/3 innings between Double-A Jackson and Triple-A Tacoma last season.