Discussion: Is Now a Right Time to Give Felix Hernandez an Extension?

Another fantastic outing by the Mariners' young ace Felix Hernandez against Cleveland, allowing only two runs over eight innings, striking out eight. He is now 10-3 with ERA of 2.51 this season.

King Felix is getting better on every outing. Is now a right time to give Felix an extension?

Hernandez signed with the Mariners when he was only 16 years old. He rapidly climbed up the minors and made the debut in the big league when he was only 19. He has struggled for past three years, but this year he is different.

He started off the year nicely, but struggled badly in May. M's skipper Don Wakamatsu had a talk with Felix after giving up six runs against the Angels on May 19.

Since the talk, he has recorded a quality start on every outing to go along with five victories. His ERA improved from 4.13 to 2.51 and made the American League All-Star team for the first time in his career.

He is becoming the true ace of the Mariners now. I believe now is the right time to lock him up. He is only 25 when he become free agent (2011), so the majority of MLB teams should be interested in him, including teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Mets, Dodgers and so on.

Those teams can give Felix a mega deal and the Mariners probably have no chance to bring him back. So why not lock him now?

But how much should the Mariners give? I think an Evan Longoria type of number is good enough. What's your thought? Let's get the discussion going.