SAN DIEGO -- Cathedral Catholic High School left-hander Brady Aiken was a likely top-10 pick coming into the spring, but I'm not sure anyone saw his recent ascent coming. Aiken threw an inning in a scrimmage against Alex Jackson's team, Rancho Bernardo, on March 8, sitting 94-97 mph with his fastball, and was 92-97 in a short start last Tuesday in front of a lot of scouts. His outing Tuesday drew five scouting directors and Colorado Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd, and Aiken fulfilled expectations with his first pitch at 95 mph, punching out 12 in 4 ⅔ hitless innings before he was pulled because of his pitch count.

Aiken showed four distinct pitches Tuesday, two of them plus.