Alex Hoppe gets comfortable with the Mariners

Apr 27, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Alex Hoppe (48) delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins in the eighth inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images About the only good thing to come from last night’s 11-4 drubbing at the hands of the Minnesota Twins was the big-league debut of hard-throwing Alex Hoppe. You know we love a debut around here, and it was extra special that it was such a quiet stinker of a game that Brad Adam could easily track down Hoppe’s wife Sasha, able to be present for his big-league debut, for a fully wholesome in-game interview.

Your browser does not support the video tag. Download the video . We’ve been interested in Hoppe since the Mariners traded minor-league catcher Luke Heyman for him this winter, and that interest ratcheted up during spring training, where he was hard to miss, with his cornstalk shock of white-blonde hair and loud stuff.

I was able to sit down with Hoppe this spring and ask him some questions about his experience leaving the club that drafted him, and what he’s excited about in becoming a Seattle Mariner. 40 in 40: Alex Hoppe, The Contraption Hungers, And You Are Its Sustenance Hoppe reported to Mariners camp this spring in mid-January, eager to acquaint himself with his new club and a whole new part of the country. Born in Clinton, Iowa (home of the former Mariners Low-A affiliate the LumberKings) and spending his college years at UNC-Greensboro before being drafted by the Red Sox, the 27-year old, deeply polite Midwesterner had never been west of Kansas City, Missouri before coming to the Mariners organization, and was eager to get comfortable with both a new club and a new environment.

“I said, I’d like to come down early, is that allowed? ” In Arizona, Hoppe took part in “Shove Camp,” the strength-and-conditioning intensive the Mariners put their pitching prospects through prior to spring training. He spent time getting to know the coaching staff and his fellow players, as well as learning how the Mariners do things, which he felt gave him a leg up coming into the spring.