M's Farm Report: After surgery, Blackley on slow road back

It was less than 14 months ago that Travis Blackley, only 21 at the time, suited up for his first start with the Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers. Lacking an overpowering fastball, the soft-tossing left-hander was already drawing comparisons to Jamie Moyer for his maturity and impeccable command on the mound.

Coming off a terrific 2003 campaign at Class AA San Antonio, in which he went 17-3 with a 2.61 ERA on his way to earning the Mariners' Minor League Pitcher of the Year award, the future couldn't have been much brighter.

Through the first half of the 2004 season, he appeared on track, headed toward the Mariners rotation. Blackley solidified himself as one of the top pitchers in the Pacific Coast League, winning seven consecutive decisions from April 26 to May 22.

Then, in the week before his first call-up to the big leagues on July 1, his left bicep started to hurt. The pain wasn't intense enough to force him to turn down a big league promotion, but it was there, similar to what he felt while with the Missions late in 2003.

"For the longest time I pitched and I didn't know if it was sore or really hurt," Blackley said. "It was hard to tell."

Blackley labored through a rough month in the big leagues, making six forgettable starts and compiling a 10.04 ERA over 26 innings. He amassed an uncharacteristic 22 walks, with only 16 strikeouts, and gave up 35 hits.

Clearly, he wasn't himself. It was more than not trusting his stuff -- his left arm wasn't working like it should.

Blackley was optioned back to Tacoma on Aug. 1, and he soon realized he couldn't go on.

"It got to be too much to handle just after I got sent down," he said. "It was just killing me. We went and got an MRI and my labrum was torn a bit."

Blackley was shut down the rest of the season, and opted to try to rehabilitate the injury rather than have surgery right away. But in early February, a month after the birth of his first child, Tristan, it became clear surgery was the only option.

"I rehabbed all offseason, and when I came back it hurt just as much if not worse," said Blackley, now 22. "From 60 feet I was just rifling it into the ground every pitch. You know something is wrong when you can't pitch 60 feet."

Blackley went in for surgery on his torn labrum Feb. 8, and during the procedure, performed by Dr. Lewis Yocum, a small tear was found in his posterior labrum as well. The prognosis: 8-10 months of rehab.

Three months after surgery, the likeable Australian says his arm is finally pain-free thanks to many tireless hours of rehab, mostly in the weight room at the Mariners' spring training facility in Peoria, Ariz.

Blackley will begin throwing in three weeks and remains hopeful he can pitch in instructional ball in Arizona once the season is over.

"I just don't want to go into spring training without having pitched in a year and a half," he said. "I feel like I could throw now, but I'm doing everything by the book."

LOPEZ BACK: After missing the first five weeks of the season with a fractured hamate bone in his right wrist, Jose Lopez came off the disabled list on Saturday and reported to Tacoma.

Playing second base while Michael Morse remained at shortstop, Lopez went 3-for-8 with a double in two games over the weekend. Lopez, 21, came up as a rookie last year and was the Mariners' starting shortstop the second half of the season.

JUAN GONE: The Carlos Guillen trade with Detroit got a little worse for the Mariners organization last week, as Juan Gonzalez, one of the two players Seattle got in return, was released after a slow start at Class A Inland Empire. Gonzalez has since signed with the Tigers, leaving Ramon Santiago -- batting .207 at Tacoma -- as the last piece of the deal remaining in the Mariners' system.

NOTES: RHP Cha-Seung Baek returned to action with Tacoma after a stint on the DL with a strained flexor bundle in his right elbow. ... Inland Empire first baseman Bryan LaHair, arguably the top prospect at his position in the system, had four home runs and 10 RBIs last week. ... Michael Saunders, a "draft-and-follow" from the 2004 draft, has signed a minor league deal with the Mariners. Saunders, a prep star in Canada who pitched and played third base in high school, attended Tallahassee Community College after being drafted in the 11th round last June. The left-handed hitter will likely be an offensive player to start his professional career. ... Catcher Luis Oliveros, a Venezuelan who missed all of spring training due to immigration restrictions, was reinstated from the inactive list and placed on San Antonio's roster after Rene Rivera's promotion to Seattle.

PROSPECT HOT SHEET

1. Felix Hernandez, RHP, Tacoma: Had best outing of the season May 12 against Round Rock: 7 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 8 K. The 19-year-old is 5-2 with a 2.30 ERA.

2. Matt Tuiasosopo, SS, Wisconsin: Closing in on a year since he was drafted, Tuiasosopo is showing why the club was willing to take a gamble on him on draft day. He's batting .321 with a .393 on-base percentage.

3. Jose Lopez, SS, Tacoma: Having played most of the 2004 season with the Mariners, he barely qualifies as a prospect. Lopez, 21, has played two games since returning from a spring-training wrist injury.

4. Shin-soo Choo, OF, Tacoma: Back in Tacoma after two weeks with the Mariners, Choo found his groove last week, going 8-for-21. Choo, 23, hit two homers and a triple May 10 at Round Rock.

5. Chris Snelling, OF, Tacoma: In 23 games, the Australian outfielder is batting .405 with eight doubles, four home runs and 20 RBIs. He has more walks (15) than strikeouts (13), and is making his case for a promotion.

6. Bobby Livingston, LHP, San Antonio: Continues to mirror the numbers (3-1, 3.35 ERA) of fellow southpaw Tom Oldham, but Livingston has more experience and the body frame to add velocity to his pitches.

7. Asdrubal Cabrera, SS, Wisconsin: Nineteen games and 75 at-bats into his season, Cabrera leads the Timber Rattlers with a .347 batting average. He's the best defensive infielder in the system.

8. Jorge Campillo, RHP, Tacoma: If Aaron Sele isn't the answer, maybe Campillo is. The Mexican right-hander is proving his case in the PCL, going 2-1, 3.05 and allowing seven walks in 38 1/3 innings.

9. Adam Jones, SS, Inland Empire: The 2003 first-round pick has his average up to .273 to go with five home runs, six doubles and three triples.

10. Yung-Chi Chen, INF, Wisconsin: Free falling in recent weeks after a torrid start, Chen's batting average is down to .273 and his on-base percentage has dipped to .301.

-- Joe Kaiser

Joe Kaiser is the editor of InsidethePark.com, a Web site that covers the Mariners' farm system. His Farm Report appears Tuesdays in the P-I.

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