Written by Greg Fertel
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18 September 2007
The Yankees will be sending 4 of their most intriguing prospects to play in
Hawaiian Winter Baseball League for the
Honololu Sharks. As many of us remember, Joba Chamberlain emerged as a consensus top 100 prospect in Hawaii last season by putting up a 2.63 ERA with a ridiculous 46:3 k:bb ratio. Ian Kennedy and Christian Garcia also looked very impressive in Hawaii last year, though Garcia eventually went down with an injury.
Top outfield prospect Austin Jackson will look to continue his great season, 4th-round draftee
Brad Suttle will look to get a taste of minor league pitching, starter
George Kontos will look to recapture the form he showed early in the season and relief prospect
Mark Melancon will get his first game action since returning from Tommy John surgery.
Since Hawaii is considered a pitcher's league in comparison to the hitter-friendly Arizona Fall League, it will be interesting to see how Jackson and Suttle handle the challenge. Melancon's progress will be worth following, as his performance might tell us how his stuff and control are coming back after the surgery. I'm not expecting instant success from Melancon, since he probably needs to build arm strength and get his command back.
The Sharks will also feature some intriguing prospects from the Yankees' AL East rivals, including Baltimore catcher Matt Wieters (#5 overall pick this year), Red Sox pitcher Daniel Bard (AKA the bust everyone wanted Oppenheimer to take instead of Kennedy, and who was also taken ahead of Joba), Red Sox outfielder Jason Place (also taken ahead of Chamberlain), and Baltimore infielder Brandon Snyder.
I will be following the performance of our prospects, and will try to keep you updated.
update: I have heard that Melancon will not pitch in HWB anymore, and will be replaced on the Sharks' roster by Anthony Claggett.
