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And I see Hill as a 60 command now, pushing 70 as he matures.  I don't think he's topped out in any way and he breezed through AA like it was nothing to see hitters who could make contact with breaking balls and offspeed pitches.  As you know, AA is my standard proving ground for anyone with a non-plus fastball.  Getting 9k/9 in the Midwest League with a changeup is far different than doing it in AA.
 
Ask the scores of would-be Moyers who ran face-first into the wall that Hill just stepped over effortlessly.  He was 8th in the league in Ks while pitching 25-60 fewer innings than everyone ahead of him. He walked two more guys than Fields in 60+ more innings. If he qualified his ERA would be 3rd in the league.  The two guys better than him were Travis Wood (short, and so under-rated as only the 7th best prospect in the Reds system, 2nd best pitcher), and Ely just got traded to the Dodgers for Juan Pierre - and was ranked the 4th best White Sox prospect by THT.  If you leave Nick Hill off your Mariners top 10 you're fooling yourself, IMO, high 80s FB or not.  He's the best lefty of his type I've seen in a while (his ability to have a change and a FB that look EXACTLY the same is critical, and that slider is a nice offering too), and I think he can settle in as a solid #3.
 
And I think he's our 3rd best pitching prospect behind Pineda and Robles.  That's how much I like them. :)
~G

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