I haven't written much about Mariners pitching prospect Brandon Maurer this season, but he's having a solid year, the longest one of his career so far. Maurer, who missed most of 2010, pitched a gem last night but the Jackson Generals ended up losing by a score of 2-0 after the bullpen surrendered a pair of runs to Montgomery.

Maurer went 7 innings, allowing 4 hits, no runs, 2 walks and 8 strikeouts. He is now 7-2 with a 3.51 ERA, 96 K/40 BB in 115.1 innings with just 3 home runs allowed. He has an ERA of 2.81 over his last ten starts.

He pitched just 79.1 innings last season, a career-high since debuting in 2008, between Clinton and High Desert and posted a 4.99 ERA. It will be interesting to see just how far the M's will push him this season and I expect him to debut in Tacoma next year while being on deck for a spot start of bullpen spot in the majors if all goes well.