In the late-October edition, Baseball America quoted M's farm director Pedro Grifol with a sit-up-and-take-notice position on Dan Cortes...

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Per BA, the Mariners were "excited" when they were able to pry Cortes away from KC in return for Frenchy -- Cortes was the Royals' minor-league pitcher of the year the season prior.

The M's are a lot more excited now than they were at the time of the trade, per BA... "by the end of the season, their excitement was through the roof."

As fans from a distance, we only saw the 1-5, 4.94 and 55:35 control after the trade.  But what the Mariners saw was four-to-five lousy starts to begin with, and then Cortes growing visibly with each outing.  For example, he ran a 3.00 ERA in his last 24 innings, throwing a 2-hitter with 7K's to close the season IIRC.

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=== So THAT'S Why the Reds Play One Game to Start the Season ===

Grifol says, "In our opinion, this could be -- I don't want to say a #1 starter because they are so rare -- but a good #2 or #3 for sure."

The term "#1 starter" as Grifol uses it here, he is talking about Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Greg Maddux, that kind of thing.  :- )   I remember getting into debates with guys on the 1990's STATS AOL boards about whether Randy Johnson was "a true #1."  By "true #1" a lot of fans -- and many scouts -- mean the absolutely automatic victories that you get with Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, etc. 

"Yeh, musta been nice when the Red Sox had a true #1.  You knew you could count on THAT guy to stop your losing streaks."

Bill Bavasi uses the term this way -- "there are only three or four #1's in the game" I read him say one time.  (The other teams skip Opening Day.)

In other words, "True #1" means not only Hall of Famer but First-Ballot Hall of Famer.

Read Grifol in that context now:  "I don't want to say he'll be a First-Ballot Hall of Famer on Roger Clemens' level, but a good #2 or #3 like Roy Halladay or Felix Hernandez... "  LOL.

I'm kidding around.  It's a debate I've enjoyed for a long time.  Every team has a #1, a #2, a #3, #4 and #5.  Most teams have a legit Opening Day starter, a staff ace.

I call John Lackey a legit #1; I call Roger Clemens an inner-circle Hall of Famer.

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=== Scouting Report Dept. ===

Anyway, Cortes at the end of the year was throwing 98 mph, sitting 94 mph, with a power curve "the Mariners like almost as much."  He was also given credit for having "some feel for a changeup."

His mistakes were fixable, per the article, mechanical things that weren't tough to change, that he was changing, and seeing improved command as he went along.

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What you and I were hoping for, from Phillippe Aumont, according to Grifol that is the picture the M's are seeing right now with Dan Cortes.

The squib addresses Cortes' makeup questions, including an arrest for "disorderly conduct" right before the Royals sent him to the M's.  Zduriencik refutes major concerns, saying that Cortes is basically a good kid.

In the early power fastball, power curve, and youthful hijinks department, Cortes mirrors Chris Tillman at the same age.  If you've been missing the Tillmanator, you can now switch your attention over to Dan Cortes seamlessly.  The M's are calling him a future TOR; no reason you can't.

Cheers,

Dr D