Pineda gets some pub

John Hickey, the Mariner beat writer for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, caught up with Rattler pitching coach Jaime Navarro and talked a certain Rattler starting pitcher.

The kid is tall. He's right-handed. He throws hard. He's 19. He's got a major league future.

He pitched this year in Class A at Wisconsin. He grew up and lives outside the U.S. and is working to perfect his English. Scouts see him as a big-time starter.

He's not Phillippe Aumont. Everything just said applies to Aumont, the 6-foot-7 French Canadian who was the Mariners' first-round draft pick in 2007.

This time, however, we're talking about Michael Pineda, who has become one of the best Mariners pitching prospects this year.

Jaime Navarro, the former big league pitcher and Wisconsin's pitching coach, handled both Aumont and Pineda. While he raves about Aumont and his high-90s fastball, Navarro is no less wild about Pineda, who hails from the Dominican Republic.

Navarro, who is with the Mariners as an extra coach for the final weeks of the season, gushes when Pineda's name comes up.

"He's hungry; he wants to be here (in the big leagues)," Navarro said. "He had a terrific year with us. The organization gave him a chance (at Wisconsin), and he's taken it and done some great things.

"He's got a real future up here. In my mind he's already a real keeper. I think you are going to see him go far. And he's going to go fast."

More at the link.