Three years ago, Trevor Cahill wasn't a part of the Vista High School pitching rotation. By the end of next year, he could be the newest member of the Oakland Athletics' major league staff.

Ranked by Baseball America as the No. 2 prospect in Oakland's minor league system, Cahill has dominated the Class A California League so far this season. With a 3-0 record, Cahill ranks first in strikeouts (95), first in walks/hits per inning pitched (0.87) and sixth in ERA (2.77) in what is considered a hitter-friendly league.

With the organization eyeing a midseason promotion to Double-A, the former All-CIF pitcher could be on track to make his major league debut as early as the end of the 2009 season.

Not bad for a guy who celebrated his 20th birthday in March.

“The first signs were during his sophomore year,” Vista coach Rick Lepire said. “He had so much movement (on his pitches), he couldn't throw a ball straight. We had a couple of (upperclassmen) who were more developed physically, but we always knew he could be special.”

Cahill declined a scholarship offer from Dartmouth when Oakland selected him with its first pick in the 2007 amateur draft. Since that time, he has rocketed up the organization's rankings just as he rocketed up draft boards during his standout senior season.

A year after pitching Vista into the third round of the CIF playoffs, Cahill is now a professional, pitching in front of thousands for the Stockton Ports.

“It's been kind of an eye-opener, playing baseball every day and playing for a living,” he said. “I don't really look at (prospect rankings). Guys joke about it, but I try not to let it affect me. Guys get drafted because they have the talent to make it to the big leagues.”

Cahill says he has enjoyed the road trips (as long as seven hours by bus) and crowds (as many as 14,000) that come with his new career, but he admitted things were much simpler for him just a year ago.

“I never realized there was so much to pitching,” he said. “I used to try to get the ball and throw the dirtiest thing I could. Now, I know I'm not going to strike everybody out. Hitters make adjustments, and you may get them out the first time up, but it's not going to work the next time.”

Cahill said the Ports' coaching staff has helped him improve a two-seam fastball designed to produce ground balls and has stressed the importance of throwing strikes. Cahill has decreased his reliance on the knuckle-curve, a pitch he used to finish off high school hitters with regularity, and refined his changeup.

The lessons have sunk in – Cahill has a sparkling 95-to-21 strikeout-to-walk ratio – and Lepire said his former player has in turn offered his new knowledge to the current Panthers.

“Our kids could watch him throw in a bullpen, and he's living proof of how much development you need to get to where he is,” Lepire said. “Kids were really shocked at the technique of coaching he received; there was some tough love. I learned we're telling the kids the right things, which made me feel good.”

Still on a strict 100-pitch limit for each of his starts, Cahill is one of the youngest players in the league, but he said he is eager to get the call that will mean the next step in his professional career. It's a call he knows could come at any time, even in the middle of a road trip.

“You take what you have on the road trip, and you get the rest of your stuff boxed up and shipped (to the new team's city),” he said. “I'm one of the younger guys here, so (the organization) is in no rush. My goal is to pitch well enough that they don't have a choice but to move me up.”

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