M's make HS pitcher Phillippe Aumont their No. 1 pick

With a day off for the Mariners, the attention of the organization turns to the future, and the future is ...

Phillippe Aumont, an 18-year-old 6-foot-7 righty from Quebec.

I won't pretend that I know anything about the guy; I'll leave that to the experts who are, to say the least, pleased that the kid fell to the M's at No. 11 after widespread fear that the organization would draft for immediate help at the expense of adding a quality prospect to the farm system.

• Aumont's draft report from minorleaguebaseball.com. A solid overview of what he brings to the table, including some video.
• A nice little interview with Aumont via The Hardball Times; it's an extensive Q&A that reveals a lot of his personality, I think.
• Dave Cameron's detailed take on Aumont over at U.S.S. Mariner. He compares Aumont's arsenal to Kevin Brown's.
• A column out of Canada on Aumont's experience with the scouting process.

Like I said, I don't pretend to know a lot about him, but I know I like it when I read stuff like this:

Baseball Analysts: Do you think you have the ability to throw harder someday or are you comfortable with the level you're at right now?

Phillippe Aumont: I know I need to work on a lot of things and for sure it's one of my goals. Once in my life I would like to top 100 [mph]. I'm comfortable with where I am; hitters don't hit me.

Baseball Analysts: So it's not about throwing harder for you?

Phillippe Aumont: No. In the major leagues, not everybody can throw 96-97 [mph] and they still get guys out.

Um, an 18-year-old who already understands it's not about throwing harder? I like this guy already. Just don't expect to see him in the bigs for a few years.