Quick Note On Michael Pineda

I know there's been some chatter about whether or not we can expect to see the Mariners' top pitching prospect come up in September, but the more I think about it, the more I doubt it, for these three reasons:

1. Michael Pineda is working on an innings limit somewhere in the 140 range, and he's already thrown 126. Bear in mind that he only threw 47.1 innings a year ago. He is well on his way to getting shut down in a couple weeks.


2. Less importantly, but still worth keeping in mind, the Rainiers appear likely to make the playoffs, and as little as we may care about the PCL postseason, teams generally don't like to piss their affiliates off.


3. Calling up Pineda in September counts towards his service time. This wouldn't matter were Pineda to break camp with the M's next spring, but it would matter otherwise. Giving him days of service next month would delay the date on which they could call him up next season and still have 2017 covered under team control, and it would also delay the date on which they could call him up and not worry about his being a super two.

I know we'd all like to see Pineda in a Mariner uniform for ourselves so we can watch him take on big league hitters, but I don't think it's going to happen in September, nor do I think it would be worth it. Given his innings limit, the most he'd be expected to do is make a few brief appearances in relief, and there's no reason to get the service clock ticking so you can give a few innings to a talented arm in an irrelevant season.