M's Farm Report | Lefty holding on to major dream

There was a reason left-hander Ryan Feierabend looked like he belonged in the major leagues last September, despite having just turned 21 and never having pitched above Class AA.

He expected to be in the majors.

And Feierabend told anyone who would listen as much as soon as he was drafted in the third round in 2003.

"I told everyone at home my goal was to get to the big leagues by the time I was 21," said Feierabend, who is 1-1 with a 2.84 earned-run average for Class AAA Tacoma.

Home for Feierabend is Grafton, Ohio, a town of about 2,000 less than an hour from Cleveland. Feierabend said the hometown fans weren't shocked at such an ambitious goal, not after watching him go 6-3 with a 0.68 earned-run average in his senior year at Midview High School, with 102 strikeouts in 51-1/3 innings.

After a steady progression through the Mariners' organization, Feierabend was 9-12 last summer at Class AA San Antonio with a 4.28 ERA. He was even better with the Mariners, going 0-1 with a 3.71 ERA in 17 innings. Most impressive were his first two appearances in the big leagues, when he allowed one hit and no runs over six innings of relief.

"Actually, I was kind of nervous coming out of the bullpen because I had never pitched in relief at any level," he said. "It's always good to go up there and get off on the right foot, but I really wasn't surprised that I did well because I was always told that it's no different up there, there's just less room for error."

Feierabend's great work in relief earned him a start against the Chicago White Sox, but he took a loss after allowing five earned runs in six innings. "I made a few errors [with pitches] and the ball got hit a long way," he said. "But other than that, I kept the ball in the zone and was pleased with how the September call-up went."

Moved to the 40-man roster, Feierabend began spring training in the major-league camp for the first time. Although it was assumed that he would begin this season with Tacoma, he had higher hopes.

"Any time you are up with the big-league camp, you are trying to make the team," he said. "You're not just settling, saying, 'I'm here for the experience and I am going to Triple A.' I understand it's a business thing and I understand who they went with as starters and in the bullpen. I'm just here to pitch, and hopefully they will see something that will get me called back up."

Feierabend has done nothing this spring to hurt his standing, posting 24 strikeouts against 11 walks in his 25-1/3 innings for Tacoma. He has a fastball that tops out at about 92 to 93 mph. Feierabend says his next-best pitch is a changeup, which he says he will throw on any count.

"I have to mix speeds, go back and forth and be relentless in the bottom of the strike zone," he said. "If you stay in the bottom of the strike zone, you won't get in a lot of trouble."