AquaSox notebook
Published 12:17 am Friday, June 22, 2007
Brandon McKerney made his professional debut Wednesday night, and the Meadowdale High School graduate gave his performance a passing grade.
“I was actually really happy with it,” said McKerney, who threw two innings of relief in Everett’s 8-2 loss to Yakima. “I got out there and just became as aggressive as I could be and got the groundball outs I needed.”
McKerney, a right-hander selected in the 14th round of this year’s draft out of the University of Washington, entered in the top of the eighth with runners on first and second and nobody out. McKerney got two outs before giving up a two-run single up the middle. He then gave up an unearned run in the ninth, giving up two infield singles, with the run scoring on a throwing error.
McKerney walked none and struck out one. Known as a groundball pitcher, only one of the nine batters he faced hit the ball in the air.
“My fastball is really what got me through, it got the good groundballs I needed,” McKerney said. “I kind of used every other pitch as a show pitch because I didn’t have a feel for my slider.”
McKerney didn’t know before the game he was going to pitch Wednesday. Nevertheless, he was able to make his pro debut in front of his parents, grandparents and sisters.
“It was funny, I wasn’t actually as nervous as I thought I was going to be,” McKerney said. “I just went out there and I was going to be aggressive and see what happens.”
And his first appearance affirmed that McKerney belonged.
“It just solidified that I’m here for a reason,” McKerney said. “Now I’ve just got to build that confidence to know I’m here for a reason and I can compete with these guys.”
Mangini on his way: Everett will have a prominent new face at the park today.
Matt Mangini, the Seattle Mariners’ second pick in this year’s draft, has been signed and is scheduled to join the team today.
Mangini was a sandwich pick, selected 52nd overall in the draft. The third baseman from Oklahoma State University was considered first-round talent after winning last year’s Cape Cod League batting title. However, he didn’t excel as much as expected this spring as a junior, batting .332 with nine home runs and 49 RBI in 53 games.
“He is a big strong kid with power at a premium position,” Mariners vice president of scouting Bob Fontaine said in a press release. “We saw him throughout the college season and in the Cape Cod League and put a lot of stock in how he performed last summer with a wood bat.”
The 21-year-old Mangini is 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds. He hails from Cary, N.C.
With Mangini in the fold, is top pick Phillippe Aumont next? Aumont hasn’t signed yet, but the right-handed pitcher from Quebec, who was taken 11th overall, has indicated publicly his intentions to sign. One of the prevailing theories is that once signed, Aumont will have a brief stay in Peoria before being sent to Everett, much like high school pitchers Chris Tillman and Tony Butler did last season.
Nick Patterson, Herald Writer
