The wait is over; the Mariners finally signed their first round draft pick. With the 11th overall pick the Seattle Mariners took 6'7" RHP Phillippe Aumont from Quebec, Canada.
The 6'7" RHP is 18 years old, and very raw to say the least. He never pitched for a high school, since his school didn't have a team. His only experience basically came as a traveling pitcher. The Mariners followed him x amount of miles just to watch the raw, tall, and lanky pitcher throw heat. His fastball ranges anywhere from 90-95 MPH. Unlike many high school pitchers, he is more than just a 4-seam fastball pitcher. He has shown an impressive 2-seamer which dives hard like a sinker. With his frame, he's also got a feeling for the bottom of the strike zone, another thing very hard to find in a high school pitcher. With his tall frame coming down off the mound at that angle, he isn't just intimidating, but he's got all the make for a power, ground ball pitcher. Basically, with his potential he's got two comparisons. The first, Derek Lowe, whose an EXTREME groundball pitcher. The second, Kevin Brown. Brown was more power than Lowe, and still had extreme sink on his stuff, which made for a very successful career. He has shown a flash of brilliance with his slider, but it still needs a load of work in order to be a effective out-pitch at the highest level. He hasn't shown much with his change-up, which would be a great pitch for anybody who throws around 95.
Had he played more, he might have drawn more attention, and thus been drafted higher. I personally think this was a great pick. Sure, he's gonna be a lot of work, like 3 to 4 years of work. The pay-off, nobody knows. If he pans out, there isn't any limit to what he can achieve. He's got all the potential in the world to be a dominating force to go along with Felix.
I'm yet to find the actual contract terms, but he did receive a 1.9 million dollar signing bonus. I'll get back to you all when I find out more.
Phillippe Aumont is due in Seattle on Friday to finalize the terms of the agreement and meet with local media.
Welcome to the Mariners Mr. Aumont. Please, please don't get injured if you pitch for Team Canada...
8/16/07
Phillippe Aumont
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8 comments:
I'm so flippin' excited to see this guy pitch. I was pumped that he fell as far down as the Mariners' pick, because some experts were picking him to go in the first 5 picks.
Let's just hope he isn't our next Ryan Anderson....
To: Thorpbrian
you took the words out of my mouth... I just wasn't willing to write that in the blog
Yeah, I think that's a ligitimate concern. Pitching prospects are never sure things, but it's nice to have a guy in the system who is a groundball heavy, and potentially strikeout heavy type pitcher.
Well the main reason that was the first thing that came to my mind is because of his height...The second was because he hasn't pitched much so you really don't know what you are getting...On the upside his arm is probably real fresh so you don't have to worry as much about injuries he sustained at a young age that haven't reared their ugly head yet...
The problem with all the freshness is that once he starts logging major innings in the system, his arm will wear out (God forbid). College pitchers are soooooo much less risky. I hope he turns into the dominant groundball pitcher he can become. But he's a massive work of art. ETA Mid-End 2011.
I have to agree about the college pitcher thing...High school pitchers are way more likely to be busts...Successful college pitchers have already proven they won't be a bust for the most part...Not that success pitching in college immediately transfers into success on the Major League Level but it's definitely less risky...Just look at Lincecum right now....
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
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