A few transactions (Mariners edition)

Baseball America has the list of the transactions for the week here. I knew mentioned a few for Seattle...Notably Adam Moore and Matt Tuiasosopo getting the call to the Mariners.

This one I knew about, but kept forgetting to mention:

Released: RHP Stephen Kahn

The Mariners had high hopes for hard-throwing Stephen Kahn, whom they took from Loyola Marymount in the fifth round of the ’05 draft, but repeated injury sidetracked his career. He appeared in only one game this season, allowing three runs in one Rookie-level Arizona League inning, as he battled shoulder inflammation. Kahn missed the entirety of ’07 and ’08 with knee injuries.

This one is a bit surprising.

Placed on temporarily inactive list: 3B Edilio Colina

This one really caught me off guard

Placed on suspended list: RHP Michael Pineda

A quick look around the usual websites has no information on either of the moves regarding Colina or Pineda. I'll do a little digging.

Mariners look to the future

Jim Street at the Mariner website has this story on a couple of recent Timber Rattler pitchers.

Pitching future looks bright for Mariners
Aumont, Pineda touted as two of club's biggest prospects

The quickest way for the Mariners to return to playoff-contender status would be to assemble a quality five-man starting rotation, and former big league pitcher Jaime Navarro believes he worked with a couple of 19-year-old future stars at Class-A Wisconsin this season.

You probably have heard of right-hander Phillippe Aumont, the organization's first-round Draft choice last year out of Canada. But you might not have heard much about right-hander Michael Pineda, a non-drafted free agent from the Dominican Republic.

They are considered the prime pitching prospects in the organization and are being handled with extreme care. Aumont's first full professional season twice was interrupted because of elbow discomfort, but he was examined by Mariners team doctors and received a clean bill of health.

Go read it all.

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.

Not a surprise

Midwest League pitcher of the Week...Rattler Michael Pineda. Well, co-pitcher of the week with Jose Perez of Cedar Rapids.

What a season it has been for the Dominican teenager who, with a near-perfect complete-game shutout Sept. 1, lowered his ERA to 1.95 for the season. Pineda was absolutely brilliant in his last outing, allowing just one hit while striking out a career-high 14 River Bandits. It was undoubtedly the best start the league saw the entire season, and it put a cap on a tremendous run to finish his season. After Aug. 1, Pineda struck out 47 batters in 39 1/3 innings, walking just three batters in that span. He'll turn 20 next January, and he's someone to keep an eye on.

About Pineda

Michael Pineda was incredible yesterday. He retired 28 of 29 batters. The only hit he allowed was a two-out infield single in the bottom of the fifth. That was after he retired the first 14 batters of the game. After the hit, he retired the final 13 batters of the game.

Milb.com noticed the performance and Benjamin Hill, a friend of this blog, wrote up a story.

Rattlers' Pineda dominates in final start

"That was the best game I have ever pitched," said Pineda after the game, with pitching coach Jamey Navarro serving as a translator. "I was hitting both sides of the plate, getting the first strike and dominating with letter-high fastballs."

Pineda's stupendous effort lowered his ERA to 1.95 on the season, good for second in the Midwest League. The native of the Dominican Republic retired the first 14 batters he faced on the afternoon, with Domnit Bolivar's infield base hit serving as the only blemish on his record. Bolivar hit a slow roller to third baseman Alex Liddi, who fielded the ball bare-handed and fired to first. It was a bang-bang play and umpire Keith Rogowski ruled that Bolivar was safe.

There are also these tidbits. I wonder where Ben picked these up? It's almost like he was listening to the broadcast or at least read the article on the Rattler website.

In addition to being the best-pitched game of his young career, Pineda's effort will go into the Timber Rattlers' record books, as well. The complete-game gem was the first one-hitter by an individual pitcher in the 14-year-history of the franchise, and his 14 strikeouts were the most accumulated by a Wisconsin pitcher since Tom Oldham whiffed 15 on June 28, 2004.

Let's not forget that Pineda absolutely shattered the old team record for ERA in a season. The old mark was 2.58 and held by TA Fulmer since 2003.

One qualifier I would add to the line best-pitched game of his young career. It should be best-pitched game of his young career so far.

Churchill on Pineda

Jason Churchill's M's Farm Report at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is on Rattler pitcher Michael Pineda.

Despite its lack of big league-ready pitching, the Mariners farm system is laced with quality pitches who profile as major league starters. One of them, Michael Pineda of the Dominican Republic, is making waves in his first season in the United States.

Pineda, 19, is teaming with fellow right-handers Phillippe Aumont, Nathan Adcock and Juan Ramirez to form a dynamic foursome in the Class A Wisconsin starting rotation.

Particular attention is paid to his start in the night game of the Day-Night doubleheader in Clinton last Saturday.

On Saturday, Pineda made his seventh start of the year and limited the Midwest League's top offensive club to one hit in seven innings. He struck out six and did not walk a batter in Wisconsin's 10-0 victory.

"He could have hit a target on a fly's back from a thousand yards away," an NL scout in attendance said. "It's always fun to see a young pitcher with good stuff throw all of his pitches for strikes and spot the fastball all over the zone."

The future?

"Once this group gets to Double-A and Triple-A, (Pineda) might be the best of the three," the NL scout said. "Aumont gets the attention and Ramirez has the bigger fastball, but Pineda is probably the most likely to max out."