Written by Greg Fertel
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17 October 2007
As we prepare our top-30 prospects, I'd like to think about Baseball America. Usually I don't like to think about Baseball America, but one good thing they tend to do is rank prospects. I'm a crazy Type-A, so I like my rankings.
It's a matter of pride to be ranked on BA's top-100 list. BA is the "industry standard" of prospect ranking. Who will be on that list for the Yankees?
Definitely:
- Joba Chamberlain
- Ian Kennedy
- Jose Tabata
- Austin Jackson
Good Chance:
Maybe:
- David Robertson
- Kevin Whelan
- Francisco Cervelli
I'm basing this off what BA has said in the past about the prospects. Last year, the Rockies led the list with 8 prospects in the
top 100. The Yankees had 5. The Yankees could easily beat that this year - 9 is conceivable, with an outside shot at 10.
Joba Chamberlain will certainly top the list. It's hard to see them rating him below anyone but Homer Baily - and even then, I'd complain about that ranking a lot. David Price? I'd take Joba any day. He'll rank below Upton (is he still rookie eligible), possibly Maybin, possible Longoria, or someone like Colby Rasmus. Franklin Morales too.
Basically, Joba has a good shot near the top spot. Ian Kennedy and Jose Tabata will likely finish late-teens to twenties. Austin Jackson could really land anywhere - depending on how ambitious BA wants to be. In the past, they've been less than ecstatic about Jackson, but maybe they'll rush to correct themselves.
The other guys will all be in the 80-100 range, unless BA feels like being adventurous. I'm not sure what they'll interpret from Betances this year, but I think that they'll ere on the side of raw stuff. From Montero, BA has been raving about him (despite being as negative as anyone in the prospect world) since the GCL season started, so I predict that he'll be there. It's hard to bet against the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year, so I'd expect Horne. Humberto Sanchez? If healthy, he's up there with Kennedy and Tabata, but we run the risk of BA straight-out forgetting about him over the long year.
It'll be interesting. The Pending Pinstripes Rankings are more important though!
