If it were any other sport, Felix Hernandez would be penciled into this season's starting rotation for the Seattle Mariners.

Not destined to chill out in Tacoma playing for the Class AAA Rainiers.

Did the Cleveland Cavaliers ever think about putting LeBron James in the CBA for a year or two of seasoning to protect his pubescence?

Did Pete Carroll at USC ever think about keeping Reggie Bush on the bench because he was an 18-year-old freshman?

Of course not.

But this is baseball we're talking about, where you don't steal a base if you're six runs ahead, or bunt to break up a no-hitter even if it might help you win the game.

We all understand that baseball is different, especially when it comes to pitchers. Certainly young arms have been ruined by fathers and coaches trying to coax a curveball out of them.

The Mariners watched their last great pitching prospect, Ryan Anderson, undergo surgery after surgery. They watched last summer as highly-touted Travis Blackley and Clint Nageotte didn't have the physical or mental stuff to make it.

"I think most of us want to be protective of Felix," said Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi. "But we've also asked ourselves, 'What if he comes in and lights up spring training ... what are we going to do?' "

They had better figure it out.

I'd hand Hernandez the ball. The fourth spot in the rotation is perfect for him, perfect for the top-rated pitching prospect in baseball, perfect for what may well be a once-in-a-decade talent.

Hernandez was the talk of last year's Futures Game and made mincemeat of Tim Salmon on a rehabilitation stint in Class A. The Mariners admit that he has not yet been challenged at any minor-league level, including Class AA, where the best hitting prospects hang out.

Mark Langston made it straight from AA to the Mariners. But then he wasn't 19. (Or nearly as talented.)

Hernandez, whom the Mariners signed as a 16-year-old right-hander from Venezuela, has three so-called out pitches: a fastball that gets near 100 mph, a roundhouse curve that petrifies hitters and a changeup.

He has stature at 6 feet 3, 180 pounds. Last year, he struck out 172 batters and walked 47. He allowed 17 fewer hits than innings he pitched.

He won't have to nibble at the corners the way Blackley did.

"Based on just pure stuff," said Benny Looper, the director of player development for the Mariners, "he could be successful in the big leagues. But the game is still about having confidence. I'd rather see him get more experience in AAA."

The Mariners never intended that Ken Griffey Jr. would start as a 19-year-old. But he did. He was just too good in spring training not to. The pure stuff was his.

The Mariners want to not only protect Hernandez from overwork at the major-league level, but they want to save him for a late-season pennant run if there is one.

They are also mindful that once he hits the majors, his arbitration clock starts ticking, and so does the inevitable run to free agency.

Rushing him could be expensive.

But what if he pitches as well as LeBron James plays? Why waste his arm pitching in Tacoma? Imagine the jolt he could give a club trying to rebound from 99 losses, and a fan base that would fall in love with him.

My point is, he is either ready to pitch in the big leagues or he isn't.

"He needs to work on fielding his position and holding runners on," Looper said.

He didn't say anything about his control or velocity.

"Until pitchers get to be 21 or 22 you've got to really be careful," Bavasi said. "I am a firm believer you can do a lot of damage with young kids if they throw too many innings."

The Mariners say they can control his innings better in the minors, where wins and losses don't matter as much.

Given that he'll do in spring training what I suspect he'll do, I'd tell Hernandez he was the fourth starter in the rotation, that the organization was committed to him, and to just go pitch.

There might be, frankly, less pressure on him knowing he was in the big leagues than there would be on him trying to get there from Tacoma, especially on a cold, rainy night.

His innings could be monitored in Seattle. His starts even staggered.

The Mariners say they plan to see him strut his stuff against major-league hitters in spring training.

Seems to me, if you are worried about his health and want him to pitch in the minors for another year, then you keep him away from spring training and the urge to try to impress against every hitter in every inning.

If you let him pitch in the spring, then be prepared to take him north when spring is over.

He has never been hurt, has great mechanics and the kind of ability than means another year in the minors is just one less year in the majors.

Blaine Newnham: 206-464-2364 or bnewnham@seattletimes.com.