Larry Stone / Baseball reporter
Hernandez is hope for reeling Mariners

Felix Hernandez's ability is already generating buzz.

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HOUSTON — The Mariners are in disarray, their season up in flames. They just might defy baseball logic and lose every single game the rest of the way. The season is a full-blown, unadulterated disaster.

So this one is for all the heavy-hearted, morbidly depressed Mariners fans — are there any other kind right now? This one is about the future. This one is about a shining star on the horizon, just waiting to illuminate the dark world of Seattle baseball.

This one is about Felix Hernandez. This one is about hope.

If you haven't heard about him yet, trust me, you will. There are many in the game who think he will be baseball's Next Big Thing, and that Next might mean next year. Baseball America rates him as baseball's No. 1 pitching prospect, No. 3 overall.

Felix Hernandez is 18 years old, throws 98 mph, has a wicked curve and beyond-his-years poise. He started the year at Class A, blew hitters away, moved up to Class AA, and is still blowing hitters away. His combined professional statistics: a 16-5 record, 217 strikeouts in 169 innings and a 2.56 earned-run average.

Not to get too carried away, but Jim Callis, executive editor of Baseball America, said he hasn't seen a teenager with this kind of promise since Dwight Gooden.

"It's almost like he's too good to be true," said Callis. "You just wonder, how much longer can you hold the guy back?"

Ah, what the heck. Get carried away. You deserve it. At yesterday's All-Star Futures Game at Minute Maid Park, bringing together the minor leagues' best and brightest, Hernandez was a big part of the buzz. He entered the game in the second inning for the World team, facing Prince Fielder — Cecil's kid — and immediately fired a 97 mph fastball on the outside corner.

Fielder eventually singled, but David Wright — a New York Mets prospect so highly regarded that the organization has deemed him untouchable in their efforts to land Randy Johnson — was made to look silly. Two 97 mph fastballs, two knee-buckling curves, and he was back in the dugout.

Listen to Wright gush after the game. You'll like this, trust me.
 
"Electric stuff," he said, shaking his head. "Anytime you've got a guy throwing in the upper 90s with that filthy curve, it's electric. He's got filthy stuff. It looks like he was locating good, throwing the heck out of the ball. As a hitter, there's not much you can do about that when he's out there pumping 96 to 98 with that big, 12-to-6 curve. I had heard about his reputation. He came in and backed it up today."

The next batter hit into a double play, and Hernandez was done. But the hype has just begun.

Just listen to Conor Jackson, a Futures Game outfielder from the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. Conor is the son of John M. Jackson, who plays Rear Admiral A.J. Chegwidden on the television show "JAG." But that's another story.

Jackson faced Hernandez last year when he was a 17-year-old prodigy in rookie ball with Everett. He faced him earlier this year when he was in the California League with San Bernardino, and he faced him four days ago when Hernandez made his second Class AA start for San Antonio.

"He's got the stuff," Jackson said. "He's got an explosive fastball, and personally, I don't even think that's his best pitch. A lot of people do. He's got that slider, or curve, or whatever you want to call it. It looks like a slider, breaks like a curveball. I think that's his best pitch. If he keeps featuring that, he's going to be up in The Show in no time. You go up against him, you're just happy to make contact. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets called up later in the year, in September, if he keeps throwing that way."

Callis thinks along the same lines.

"The Mariners obviously are not in that situation," he said, "but if they needed a guy ... he almost could do something similar to what Francisco Rodriguez did for the Angels. If they needed a guy, they could throw him into the majors and say, 'OK, you're a setup man now.' "

Don't count on it. The Mariners seem inclined to be cautious with Hernandez, and that's a good thing. He has barely thrown 150 innings as a pro. He needs to develop his changeup, fill out his body, keep learning how to pitch. He's OK with that, too.

"I feel like Seattle has been patient with me," Hernandez said, speaking through an interpreter. "They are the ones that have to make the decision. I'm working hard trying to help them make the right decision."

Would he like to be in the majors next year? Hernandez smiles. "Claro." Of course.

Hernandez hoped to be on the Mariners' staff with his boyhood hero and mentor, fellow Venezuelan Freddy Garcia. It's not going to happen now.

"It was sad to see him leave, because he was from Venezuela like me," Hernandez said. "In spring training, he used to come down to the minor leagues, and we used to talk a lot. He told me to pitch to my strength, not the other team's weakness."

Hernandez was asked about his strength.

"My fastball. It is my bread and butter."

It is a thing of beauty, and it's coming our way. In this season of broken dreams, that is a joy to behold.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com.