| By Jason A. Churchill |  | By 04-24-2009 |
I'm sure some of you are checking the box scores in the California League nightly and have noticed how well the three best arms in the Seattle Mariners farm system are faring.Juan Ramirez, Phillippe Aumont and Michael Pineda are off to strong starts, which is more impressive than anything any of the bats are doing in High Desert, due to the nightmarish environment the league and the home ballpark happen to be.
I won't talk too much about Aumont until later this summer, and Ramirez will have his day in the PI sun, but Pineda made another superb start tonight.
The right-hander went 7 1/3 innings allowing just three hits and an earned run. He didn't issue a walk and struck out six, en route to improving to 3-1 with a 3.51 ERA and a 24-4 K/BB ratio in 25 2/3 innings in four starts.
All that is impressive enough, right? But wait, there's more.
Not only did Pineda stifle a Cal League opponent in what very well may be the greatest hitter's ballpark in all of North American baseball, the lineup he faced is a good one. A very good one.
The San Jose Giants boast two tremendous pitching prospects on their roster in right-hander Tim Alderson and left-hander Madison Bumgarner, but they also have five future big-league regulars in their lineup.
Catcher Buster Posey, third baseman Conor Gillaspie, second baseman Nick Noonan, shortstop Brandon Crawford and first baseman Angel Villalona.
Posey and Villalona are big-time prospects expected to be impact players in the majors, but the entire group went 1-for-18 with a single and four strikeouts Friday night.
Let me repeat that with some detail -- Posey and Villalona are future stars, Villalona with a track record of mashing pro pitching, Gillaspie and Noonan have produced at well above-average levels for their positions in their young pro careers, and Crawford was hitting .382 with a 1.204 OPS coming into the matchup versus Pineda. he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Oh, and Crawford, Noonan and Gillaspie are lefty bats.
Translation: Pineda is good.
I still don't think Pineda's upside matches up with that of Ramirez, but he's sitting 90-92 and his pitches -- sinking fastball, cut fastball/slider, changeup -- are more polished, as is his command of them, than his teammate Ramirez can boast of his own repertoire.
Pineda is more equipped to live through the season in the Cal League as well, due to the sinking action and command of his fastball. His cutter/slider is a pitch he'll have to command well or the long ball will hurt him, but he's always had above-average control.
So while I keep telling many of you to generally ignore the numbers put up by many of the bats in that league at this stage, any time a 20-year-old pitcher shuts down a good lineup in that league and in Mavericks Stadium, it means something.
Photo of Michael Pineda on Opening Night 2009 by Mike Andruski
michael-pineda
Comments
The following 15 comment(s) for this article are shown below:
| 1. By: Blowgun7 on 04-25-2009 00:36:57 Should we be excited about Ramirez, Pineda, and Adcock? They've gotten off to great starts. Nice night for Carp, Halman, and Clement tonight as well |
| 2. By: Lonnie on 04-25-2009 00:38:54 No love for Adcock? :) Seriously though, if these guys show that they can thrive at HD, do they spend the entire year there, or does one or two get pushed up to AA? From the sound of it, Pineda looks to be the early favorite for a move sometime in the future. Lonnie |
| 3. By: Lonnie on 04-25-2009 00:50:04 Crap, I hate thinking up stuff after I post... What if the three headed monster at Clinton (Pribanic, Hensley, and Lorin) continue to pitch well up there, sort of matching what the three headed monster in HD (Pineda, Ramirez, Adcock) is doing? Sort of an "out there" type of scenario, but I can't remember when we had 6 pitchers doing well at the same time even this early in the year. Lonnie |
| 4. By: Lonnie on 04-25-2009 01:10:00 Ok, I swear this will be my last post... I was just looking at his stats from previous years, and something kind of jumped out at me. Prior to '08 the most Pineda had pitched was 59 innings. Last year, his first in the states, he threw 138.1 innings, and got stronger as the season wound downa allowing 3 runs or less in his last 11 starts. His last start he threw a complete game 1-hitter and struck out 14. Is this kid for real? Lonnie |
| 5. By: slick on 04-25-2009 04:12:27 Jason Vargas has been pitching real well at Tacoma, he had another strong performance leading the PCL with 22KS. He seems to have been another nice throwin in the Putz trade, any thoughts on the M's plans for him in the future if he continues to pitch well? Would it make sense to flip Washburn when his value is at its greatest (before the trade deadline) knowing that RRS or Vargas could probably fill LHP pitcher void? |
| 6. By: Jason A. Churchill on 04-25-2009 11:13:08 Vargas is a No. 5 or a middle reliever. Adcock doesn't have the stuff and command of either Ramirez or Pineda. Adcock is a No. 4 at best. I think the upside of Lorin might be bigger. Blow, Are you seriously asking me THAT question in the thread of a post about how well Pineda pitched last night? Really? |
| 7. By: ASUBoyd on 04-25-2009 12:08:16 hahaha |
| 8. By: Jason A. Churchill on 04-25-2009 12:52:07 ASU, You seen Kipnis much this year? His performance vastly outweighs his physical gifts, and he's not a first-round guy, but he's a tough one to assess. I've heard fourth round, but I think he's better than that. |
| 9. By: Slack on 04-25-2009 15:11:39 Jason, Are the M's thinking about leaving High Desert in the near future? If Pineda and Ramirez and company keep pitching like this, I'd stay. I think High Desert is a good place to actually learn how to pitch. We all remember how Chris Tillman took off after he figured it out there. |
| 10. By: Jason A. Churchill on 04-25-2009 17:58:50 High Desert is an awful area, stadium needs help, the entire league is in trouble. That's before the environment for pitchers is even talked about. Tillman didn't need HD to figure out how to pitch. He made, what, 10-12 starts there two years ago? Tillman took off in Wisconsin. I'd get out, but there's no place to go right now. |
| 11. By: The Great Pumpkin on 04-25-2009 18:53:19 What's the ceiling on Pineda and Ramirez? Are we talking about front-line starters if the pan out? |
| 12. By: littlelinny6 on 04-25-2009 19:36:56 Jason, What do you think Pineda's ceiling is as a starter? No.2/3 starter?? The M's could certainly use one of those. |
| 13. By: Jason A. Churchill on 04-25-2009 19:38:04 Ramirez's ceiling is probably as a No. 2. Pineda a No. 3. |
| 14. By: ASUBoyd on 04-25-2009 21:45:03 JAC- I've seen him many times. SD took him 4th round last year, and he did not sign. I think he will make a team who takes him in late 2nd early 3rd really happy. I like his swing, seems level, balanced. Translate to wood well, in my opinion. Plays CF for us, i doubt he would stay there for a big league club, but i think someone could give him a shot there. I like him a lot. He always seems capable of the big hit and does it all. Reminds me of Dustin P. Physically not what you think of, but produces. |
| 15. By: Jason A. Churchill on 04-25-2009 22:05:20 Yeah, the defensive position is the thing for me. His numbers are identical, nearly, to Ackley's, and they are similar hitters in style and approach. I think if he slips past the second, someone gets a steal. |
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