Seattle Mariners Class A outfielder James McOwen came into the 2009 season with a low profile.

And that might be an understatement.

The Mariners’ sixth-round draft pick in 2007, McOwen’s name was nowhere to be found on list of Mariners prospects. The product of Florida International University was not even mentioned in Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook, which writes up 30 players in each organization.

In fact, the season did not even get off to a good start for McOwen. After he hit .263 with seven home runs for the High Desert Mavericks last season, the Mariners sent him right back to the same team for 2009.

So why are we talking about him now?

It’s all about the streak.

McOwen has put together a 34-game hitting streak going into Saturday’s game.

The streak is the longest in High Desert franchise history, it’s one game shy of tying the longest streak in California League history, and it’s the seventh-longest in minor league baseball over the last 20 years.

Brandon Watson has the longest streak in the last 20 years, a 43-game stretch for Triple-A Columbus in 2007.

“It could end tomorrow, or it could end two weeks from now,” McOwen recently told MLB.com. “From here on out, it’s pretty much all bonus.”

The streak has led to a big boost in McOwen’s stat line. Through Friday, McOwen was batting .329 with two home runs and 37 RBI.

 • Two of the Mariners’ international signees who are playing at Class A High Desert have been named to the World roster for the 2009 All-Star Futures Game, to be held on July 12 in St. Louis as a part of the Major League Baseball All-Star festivities.

Tyson Gillies is a 20-year-old center fielder from Kamloops, B.C. A 25th-round draft pick in 2006, Gillies has broken out with a .323 batting average and a .439 on-base percentage. Gillies has 18 stolen bases and has scored 54 runs in 64 games.

Gillies was born with a hearing impairment and wears hearing aids in both ears, but his play is unaffected.

Italian-born third baseman Alex Liddi, 20, was also named to the club. Liddi’s bat has surged in the California League, were he is hitting .341 with 17 homers and 61 RBI.

Three players from the Pacific Coast League will appear in the game: second baseman Eric Young Jr. (Colorado Springs), third baseman Brett Wallace (Memphis), and shortstop Alcides Escobar (Nashville).

 • In the wake of the news that Adrian Beltre is playing through shoulder problems and probably needs surgery, it should be noted that injured Tacoma third baseman Matt Tuiasosopo started a throwing program in Arizona on Wednesday – the first step toward his return. Tuiasosopo had surgery in early May to clean up his right elbow.

 • From the Pacific Coast League file, the Texas Rangers signed 43-year-old pitcher Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez to a minor league contract and assigned him to Oklahoma City.

Hernandez, who famously fled Cuba on a raft before becoming a World Series hero for the New York Yankees, made his Oklahoma City debut on Wednesday and pitched a perfect inning in relief.

And according to a report in The Daily Oklahoman, El Duque has a friend in Oklahoma City for whom he left tickets on the player pass list: a man named Fidel Castro.

Mike Curto, For The News Tribune