Jan 262009
I’ve done this for four years now, and this is probably the worst list of prospects that I’m written since before Chamberlain and Kennedy were drafted. That said, there’s a lot of interesting promise on the list, and some names should produce immediate dividends for the Yankees.
The good: We finally have some decent LHPs on the list. The Yankees have a ton of depth at catcher.
The bad: More than ever, this list is dominated by pitchers. The Yankees haven’t had much luck developing hitters lately.
After the jump – the ranking.
- 1. Jesus Montero, C - He’s not going to win any gold gloves, but there’s a pretty good chance he sticks behind the plate. If he does, he’s an all-star or better.
- 2. Austin Jackson, CF - A little bit of a disappointment this season, but at least he’s shown that 2007 wasn’t a fluke.
- 3. Andrew Brackman, RHSP – He’s moving slower than his major league contract necessitates.
- 4. Zach McAllister, RHSP – Had a major break out season. Just 21 walks in 151 innings.
- 5. Dellin Betances, RHSP – Started to finally show his potential for the first time since just after he was drafted in last year’s 2nd half.
- 6. Mark Melancon, RHRP - One of the top relief prospects in the minors. Pitched a ridiculous 95 innings this year.
- 7. David Robertson, RHRP – Got beat up in the majors, but still struck lots of batters out, and did excellent at Triple-A.
- 8. Jairo Heredia, RHSP - Shows all the signs of becoming a great prospect instead of just a great-for-his-age prospect.
- 9. Jeremy Bleich, LHSP – Was fantastic in winter ball. Lefties with control are high-percentage prospects.
- 10. Austin Romine, C – Solid all-around hitting skills and potentially gold-glove defensive ability.
- 11. Brett Marshall, RHSP - You can’t teach 96, but he’s still very raw.
- 12. Wilkins De La Rosa, LHP - The Yankees probably made him a starter just to expedite his development. Still, he’s a Mike Gonzalez type.
- 13. Francisco Cervelli, C - Only needs to hit for below-average power to be an asset.
- 14. Bradley Suttle, 3b/1b - Nagging injuries hurt his numbers, but he showed enough to give us confidence.
- 15. Brandon Laird, 3b – Lots of power, but will the strikeouts hurt him?
- 16. J.B. Cox, RHRP – Lack of strikeouts became a problem after the elbow surgery.
- 17. Brett Gardner, CF - I still think he can be an average starting CF.
- 18. Juan Miranda, 1b - Now useless with Teixeira.
- 19. Humberto Sanchez, RHRP - Disappointing AzFL, despite the good scouting reports.
- 20. Alan Horne, RHSP – Injury status is starting to be too much.
- 21. George Kontos, RHSP - He’s still striking a lot of people out.
- 22. Phil Coke, LHP - More than just a token lefty.
- 23. Alfredo Aceves, RHSP – Solid 5th starter.
- 24. Ryan Pope, RHSP – Very hittable at times, but showed flashes of plus-plus control.
- 25. Kyle Higashioka, C - Catcher #4
- 26. Chase Wright, LHSP – Solid lefty reliever, might be able to be a 7th starter.
- 27. Carmen Angelini, SS- Jackson was terrible in his Single-A debut too.
- 28. Corban Joseph, INF - Solid debut, solid tools.
- 29. Christian Garcia, RHSP – My hope is dwindling.
- 30. Abraham Almonte, CF – Was overwhelmed at Single-A this year.
Related posts:
As always, a great job. A few quibbles:
I would have Garcia higher, I still believe in him. Same with Kontos. i would flip Betances and McCallister, gotta go with the crazy ceiling. I would have Romine slightly higher, Marshall and Bleuch slightly lower until I see a bit more proof, and i am curious if you considered Arodys Vizcaino, who seems to be the “in” name for scouts when asked to name a hidden gem in the Yankee system. Moshe Mandel(Quote)
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What exactly is the deal with Brackman’s major league contract? What restrictions/ difficulties does it present? Is it simply a 40-man roster thing? Tom Gaffney(Quote)
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Moshe Mandel Reply:
January 26th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
I think it also has some sort of reprecussions in terms of when he is arbitration eligible. Moshe Mandel(Quote)
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Brackman’s contract:
1) He’s been on the 40-man since being signed, despite being on the 60-day DL. Since he was a major league deal out of college, he’ll have 4 option years. This year will be his 3rd option year. That makes it difficult to keep him in the minors past 2010. He needs to move quickly.
2) He’ll likely get a boost when he hits arbitration. ejfagan(Quote)
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daneptizl Reply:
February 2nd, 2009 at 12:30 am
This is Brackman’s 2nd option year since the ‘07 season doesn’t take up an option year.
Re: Garcia, it’s true that he wasn’t a diligent worker, but from his own and Nardi’s accounts, things have changed and he’s now become more devoted to his career. daneptizl(Quote)
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On Garcia: He’s got a reputation for not being the best worker or grinder. I have trouble seeing him getting truly healthy consistently. He’s got great stuff, but he’s really getting up there with the ticking clock.
Kontos: Scouts hate him because of his control. I think he’ll have Oliver Perez type problems (but he won’t be nearly as good) in the majors if he makes it there. I could be wrong though.
Vizcaino was a near-miss. Still waiting on a longer audition. I’m generally fairly skeptical of young Latin American players (I don’t know how many times I’ve heard of some 17 year old who is the next big thing) unless the Yankees paid him a bunch of money (Montero, Heredia, etc). ejfagan(Quote)
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Moshe Mandel Reply:
January 26th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Agreed on the latin players. One question- what is the scouting report on Joseph? Does he have the tools or was he playing over his head? And are you going to be doing profiles on all 30? Moshe Mandel(Quote)
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EJ Fagan Reply:
January 26th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Probably not on all 30, but I’m going to try and get some of the interesting ones done. Considering a trip to spring training to get some photos with my new camera.
Joseph is solid all around. He comes from a low-profile program, so he doesn’t really stand out anywhere. Still, he’s a step above the Sublett/Snyder types who succeeded in short-season ball. Think about Colin Curtis. EJ Fagan(Quote)
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Poor Chase Wright… Chris H.(Quote)
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Moshe Mandel Reply:
January 26th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
I like Wright. He gets a bad rap among Yankees fans because of that four straight homers thing. Moshe Mandel(Quote)
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why does edwar gonzalez and johnathan ortiz never get any love? nycsportzfan(Quote)
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