I planned to cover the debuts of Bobby Hill, Dennis Tankersley, Rafael Soriano, and Jason Lane yesterday. However, when writing about Hill, one thing led to another and I didn't make it past the Cubs, so I'll cover Tankersley, Soriano, and Lane today.

San Diego placed Kevin Jarvis on the DL Friday and called up Tankersley. Boston drafted the right-handed pitcher out of Meramec Missouri Junior College in the 38th round of the 1998 draft. He spent the 1999 season playing Rookie ball with the Red Sox's affiliate in the Gulf Coast League. In 2000 he was promoted to the A ball club at Augusta in the Sally League and then traded mid-season with SS Cesar Saba to San Diego for 3B Ed Sprague. The Padres placed him at Fort Wayne in the A Midwest League for the remainder of the 2000. Last year, he split time between Lake Elsinore in the A+ California League, AA Mobile in the Southern League, and AAA Portland in the Pacific Coast League.

Tankersley's minor league statistics have been stellar across the board. He pitched the majority of his innings last season at AA, compiling an amazing 5.7 H/9, with .8 HR/9, 11.4 K/9, and 3.0 BB/9 for an 89:24 K:BB in 70 IP, and his statistics at other levels are similar. The 23-year-old reportedly achieves those numbers with three great pitches, a mid-90's four-seemed fastball, a low 90's two-seemed fastball, and a mid-80's slider, along with a good changeup. Tankersley's had some endurance problems, developing a sore arm late last season, but that appears to be the only factor in his history that could stand in the way of him becoming an ace starter.

Tankersley pitched 5.2 innings with a 5:4 K:BB and allowed 4 hits, including 1 home run, in his debut appearance Friday night against the Atlanta Braves. He allowed a bunt single to the first batter he faced in the majors, Rafael Furcal. The other hits in the game included a double and homer by Andruw Jones and a single by Chipper Jones. Tankersley picked Andruw Jones off second following his double. He gave up two walks to Julio Franco and one each to Marcus Giles and Gary Sheffield. Sheffield, Vinny Castilla, Henry Blanco, and Franco all struck out swinging. Greg Maddux struck out looking. Of his other outs, nine were on ground balls and two were flyouts. Jason Boyd relieved him in the sixth after Tank hit Vinny Castilla with a pitch. Of the 82 pitches he threw, 44 were strikes. He grounded out in both of his at-bats, once to the pitcher and once to third base.

Before the Padres called him up, he had a 30:14 K:BB in 30.2 IP with only 28 hits and one home run allowed over 7 starts. He probably won't stay in the majors after Jarvis returns from the DL unless Brian Tollberg begins to encounter serious problems again. However, he will likely return by September and enter next season as a regular member of the rotation.

Jarvis returned to the DL with a pain in his elbow, presumably lingering from the strain that caused his first trip to the disabled list in late-April. He'll likely rest for a few days and then attempt to resume a throwing program. Provided he doesn't suffer further setbacks, the Padres will probably try to activate him when he is eligible to return.

Seattle promoted Rafael Soriano when they placed Jeff Nelson on the DL on Thursday. The Mariners signed Soriano as a nondrafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in late August of 1996. He was originally an outfielder and spent 1997 and 1998 with the Mariners' Rookie ball affiliate in the Arizona League. In 227 AB he posted a 25:65 BB:K with 50 H but only 9 for extra bases, including 7 doubles and 2 triples. He had marginal speed, no power, and no evident plate discipline. However, he possessed a very good arm so Seattle decided to make him a starting pitcher.

Soriano spent 1999 at A- Everett in the Northwest League and 2000 at Wisconsin in the A Midwest League. He began last season at A+ San Bernardino in the California League but was promoted to San Antonio in the AA Texas League before the end of the season. Although, he suffered from a few control problems at first, he showed rapid improvement and has developed into a promising pitcher. At AA he allowed only 6.4 H/9, with 9.9 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 for a 53:14 K:BB in 48 IP.

He reportedly has two good pitches, a mid-90's fastball and a hard slider, and is working on adding a changeup. Like Tankersley, he has some endurance questions, as he missed the final three weeks of last season with a shoulder impingement, but the switch from offense to pitching seems to have agreed with the 22-year-old.

Soriano debuted in relief on Friday night, coming in for Joel Pineiro at the top of the 7th, and only allowed 2 hits, no walks, and struck out one in 3 innings to earn the save. He caused the first batter he faced in the majors, Rey Sanchez to fly out to center. The hits allowed were a double to Manny Ramirez and a single to Trot Nixon. Shea Hillenbrand struck out swinging. Of his other outs, 4 were on ground balls and four, including Sanchez, were flyouts. He threw 31 total pitches, 18 for strikes.

While the Mariners still plan to develop him as a starter, he will pitch out of the bullpen during this call-up. Considering he does still need time in the minors in order to refine his skills for rotation work, I don't expect him to remain in the bullpen once Seattle has a suitable replacement. In his 7 AA starts prior to his promotion, he had a 40:13 K:BB with only 28 hits, but 6 HR, allowed in 37.2 IP.

Jeff Nelson needs surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow and will likely be out for a few months. A number of Mariners' pitchers have had troubles with injuries recently. I will likely try to cover the others in the near future.

The last of our call-ups was promoted after Hipolito Pichardo announced his retirement on Thursday. Pichardo, recently activated from the disabled list, missed most of Spring Training and the beginning of the season with an elbow injury. He evidently doesn't think that the elbow has recovered and he's ready to hang it up, for the second time, at age 32. Pichardo previously announced his retirement while with the Red Sox last season, so he may not be gone for good.

Houston drafted Lane out of the University of Southern California in the sixth round of the 1999 draft. He spent 1999 at A- Auburn in the New York-Pennsylvania League and 2000 at Michigan in the A Midwest League. Last season he was promoted to AA Round Rock of the Texas League. He has very good power as well as a moderate amount of speed. His plate discipline shows some promise, but with a 61:98 BB:K last season, he still needs to work on his strike zone judgment, so he should probably spend a full season in AAA.

He made his debut as a pinch hitter for starter Carlos Hernandez in the top of the 7th on Friday against the Pirates. Lane flied out to left in his first major league at-bat in his only plate appearance of the game. However, he started Saturday's game in right field. Unfortunately, he went 0 for 3 with two outs on ground balls and one fly out.

Lane will serve as a platoon partner to Daryle Ward at most during this call up. In the next season or two he may become a starting member of the outfield, although unless they trade an outfielder, the Astros face a playing time crunch in the outfield. An injury to Jeff Bagwell would allow Ward to move to first, as he's the worst defender of the group, but a trade is more probable and Lane is unlikely to see much major league playing time until such a deal is completed. Prior to his promotion, Lane had a 7:19 BB:K with 40 H, including 14 doubles and 3 home runs, in 132 AAA at-bats for a .303 BA, .338 OBP, and a .477 SLG. He also stole three bases in four attempts.