The day before Trenton Thunder reliever Kevin Whelan's wedding, the Detroit Tigers decided to send him an early gift.

"They called me to tell me I'd been traded," Whelan said. "It was a complete shock, I wasn't expecting that at all. It was honestly the last thing that was on my mind."

The hard-throwing righty was dealt to the Yankees along with fellow pitchers Humberto Sanchez and Anthony Claggett for slugging outfielder Gary Sheffield in November.

"After I sat down and thought about it, there's no other team I'd have rather gone to," Whelan said. "The Yankees are the top organization, so I think it's a good situation. "

Outsiders might think that there's more pressure on Whelan to perform considering who he was traded for. Not so, says Thunder manager Tony Franklin.

"It shouldn't put more pressure on him," Franklin said. "What it should tell you is that people think enough of you that we're going to trade this particular guy, who is a high-profile player, for you. Sometimes when guys get traded, they have a tendency to think they're getting traded because someone doesn't like them. I think it's exactly the opposite, they got traded because someone does like them."

And there's a lot to like about Whelan.

"He's got good stuff," said Thunder catcher Jason Brown. "He has a split-finger fastball and a slider, both of which have real good action on them. His forkball has a lot of downward action, and he has great arm speed. It's really a tough pitch to hit."

Baseball America lists Whelan as the eighth best prospect in the Yankees organization, which also makes him the highest ranked prospect the Thunder have. So far, Whelan has been exceeding the hype.

"Kevin's done a very nice job, he's been very consistent," Franklin said. "He's got a very nice fastball and a very nice split-finger to go with it. He's around the plate, and he has enough fastball to blow it by hitters from time to time."

With rave reviews like that, you'd think Whelan's been a pitcher all his life. However, he was a catcher as late as his sophomore season in college at Texas A&M.

"My freshman summer, coach asked me if I wanted to pitch," he said. "I kind of had a bet with some of the guys that I could throw harder than them. I went out there and threw pretty hard and it just kind of went from there."

Brown said he wasn't even aware that Whelan started as a catcher until Spring Training.

"The way he handles himself, and the way he goes out there on the mound, he's very aggressive. If there is inexperience, it's not evident," Brown said.

While the fastball always seemed to come naturally to the 23-year-old, he had a unique way of building up the remainder of his repertoire.

"I learned my split my sophomore year," Whelan said. "I was watching a Braves game, and they were showing how John Smoltz threw his. So I went out and threw a simulated game in college and said 'I'll throw this, but I don't know what it's going to do' and it's kind of worked out as one of my better pitches."

He might get to see Smoltz throw it in person sooner rather than later, with some publications projecting he'll be pitching in the Bronx by the end of the season.

"Whenever the Yankees are ready, I'll be ready," Whelan said. "But I can't really put a timetable on it. If you just go out there and go about your business, it's going to be more of a surprise. If you think about it too much, it's not going to happen. Just go out there and do your stuff, and it's going to happen sooner or later."

Thunder Notes: The Thunder were three outs away from their first no-hitter at Waterfront Park on Saturday, but with starter Brett Smith out of the game after seven hitless innings, reliever Gerardo Casadiego allowed four runs on five hits to lose both the no-no and the shutout...12 days after getting the ball for Opening Day, Chase Wright made his Major League debut for the New York Yankees, picking up the win. But he ended up making history in his second start in Fenway Park, becoming only the second pitcher in big league history to give up four consecutive home runs.

"We're very interested in what he's doing, he was one of ours. Not for too long, but he was one of ours," Franklin said with a smile.

Around the Eastern League: Kevin Mulvey was destined to be a Met from birth. The pitching prospect, currently at Double-A Binghamton, found out from his dad after he was drafted that his mother was watching a Dwight Gooden start when she went into labor with him.

"When we saw that the Mets took me, it was unbelievable," he said. "To be picked by a local team that you watched with your family growing up and knowing that they'll be able to come to the games, it was a great feeling."