5/21/2008

Churchill on Aumont

Jason Churchill's M's Farm Report in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer focuses on Timber Rattler pitcher Phillippe Aumont.

and it's filled with juicy goodness:
Aumont, a Quebec native, signed late last summer and made his professional debut last month with the Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The 6-foot-7, 225-pound Aumont is off to a strong start in what most believe will be a long and successful career.

"He was the best arm in the draft for me," said a scout from an AL East team. "If we would have had the No. 1 pick, Aumont would have been our choice behind only David Price (who went to Tampa Bay). Price is closer to the big leagues, so that's a safer bet. But Aumont has great stuff and should be a workhorse for a long time."

The plan:

Aumont made his second start of the season Sunday, allowing one earned run on four hits, and is slated to remain in the rotation for the time being.

"We want him to go five innings at about 70 pitches," said Timber Rattlers pitching coach Jaime Navarro. "He didn't pitch a lot last year; he's just learning to pitch and needs to take it slow. We don't want to push him too much."

Don't you love how some scouts need to find something negative to say:

Last spring, scouts either adored Aumont for his pure stuff -- a 95-mph sinker, above-average changeup and two effective breaking balls -- or they barked that his unconventional arm slot was likely to present major problems in his development.

"It's tough to throw a breaking ball from down there," one club's amateur scout said of Aumont's three-quarters arm slot. "And the lower you go, the tougher it becomes to throw anything but a fastball. He's going to have to work to get a slider with tilt, as opposed to one that sweeps across the plate without much downward bite."

Just go read the whole thing.

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