A few notes about Alumni

Jason Churchill at Prospect Insider has this post with lots of interesting stuff involving ex-Rattlers.

First, a few releases:

Austin Bibens-Dirkx and Joe Woerman were released - Woerman last week, AB-D yesterday.

Those were the two most noteworthy transactions, so I thought I'd share. Austin should land on his feet, and he's a favorite of mine, so I wish him well. He can pitch, too, when healthy, and is now using a variance of arm angles regularly, something the organization really liked. But it's a numbers crunch, and the M's have a slew of teenage Latin arms that they need room for.

ABD and Woerman were both Rattlers in 2006. I have been looking at the transactions for news about other ex-Rattlers still in Seattle's minor league camp...but have not seen anything.

Where is that tall Canadian pitcher we had last year going to pitch this year in the Mariner System?

Aumont to West Tenn
Don't get too excited, because there's more. I have learned that the Mariners have either already decided, or are strongly considering, starting Aumont's second pro season in Double-A West Tennessee - in the bullpen.

On the surface this could tee off a lot of people, but it's a better alternative than sending Aumont to High Desert and using him in the rotation. Why? Because he has all of 50 innings under his belt as a pro and in a relief role the organization can control his environment more effectively. Surprisingly, I love this move.

Report on Michael Pineda:

Michael Pineda tossed four innings versus the Rangers' High-A club Saturday, allowing just one hit and sitting 92-95 mph with his fastball and showing a sharp slider. His best fastball in his final frame was 94, and his slider was 79-82 mph.

Click through for a bit about one of the prospects whom Seattle received for JJ Putz and just where the heck he is.