Notes: Foppert feeling better

[Porter]

http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/NASA...=.jsp&c_id=sea

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Jesse Foppert remembers quite vividly when he was considered one of the young pitchers with the brightest futures in all of baseball.

It wasn't long ago, almost three years, the fateful day of Sept. 16, 2003, when he went from built-up prospect to banged-up project.

Like many pitchers in the modern era of baseball, Foppert, who was considered the San Francisco Giants' ace-in-waiting, blew out the ulnar collateral nerve in his pitching arm and needed the famed Tommy John surgery.

The 6-foot-6 right-hander's long rehab put him squarely below the radar for the first time in his promising career, until he resurfaced with a rebuilt elbow and was promptly dealt in a trading-deadline deal last year.

Foppert, 25, came over to the Mariners last July in the Randy Winn trade and put up decent numbers for Triple-A Tacoma after he was cleared to throw following 11 1/2 months of rehab. He had a 2.57 ERA and struck out 13 batters in 14 innings.

He's in Mariners camp and says he's throwing a lot better -- and maybe feeling a bit wiser -- now.

"I think my experiences have made me stronger," Foppert said. "The toughest thing is being patient. You feel so good not so long after the surgery, and it's tempting to want to get out there and pitch, but you know you can't, because you have to let it heal properly.

"That's the toughest part."

Foppert, who threw a low-90s fastball, slider and split-finger fastball before the surgery, has added a changeup since then. He says it's a "work in progress."

Mariners pitching coach Rafael Chaves, who had Foppert in Tacoma last summer, said he's noticed a big difference in Foppert's stuff this spring.

"He's making a couple of mechanical adjustments to make sure he can maintain a good delivery, which will give him a good chance to make better pitches more often," Chaves said. "But he's getting movement on the ball and tremendous explosion on the fastball."

Foppert said he hasn't been told anything about his chances of making the club. The starting rotation might very well already be set, with Jamie Moyer, Joel Pineiro, Jarrod Washburn, Gil Meche and Felix Hernandez the overwhelming favorites to take the ball the first five days of the season.

Foppert said he doesn't mind.

"I want to be wherever I can be to help the Mariners win," Foppert said. "Being through what I've been through allowed me to take a step back and put things in perspective.

"I feel like I'm back now."

I really hope he is back because if he is then they stole this guy from the Giants.

[love_that_reefer]

Stole? Did you see what Randy Winn did in a Giants uniform?

[Porter]

Yes i did see what Winn did in a Giants Uni in a half a season. Lets see what he does in a full season id take a young starter over Winn right now.