Written by Greg Fertel | 29 January 2008

A little healthy debate is always a good thing. The Yankees are one of the few teams with a real plurality of minor league-oriented blogs on the internet. I sent out some questions to all of these bloggers, and the following responded: Mike A. of River Ave Blues Pablo Zevallos of Yankees: Looking for the Future Mike Ashmore of Mike Ashmore's Thunder Thoughts And of course, your very own Pending Pinstripes crew. I'm also waiting for a few responses from other bloggers, so I may insert those when I get them. I asked a dozen questions. Here are the first two:

Who is your breakout candidate of the year for the Yankee farm system?

Pablo - "Kevin Whelan – I think he’ll get his control together" Mike Ashmore - "Matt Carson. I think a lot of that depends on what kind of playing time he's able to get based on where he ends up, but in my opinion, he was the only legitimate power threat the Thunder had on their roster all year. His walks were low and his strikeouts were high, but I think his playoff performance might have boosted his status in the organization a little bit, and that his bat could potentially take him a long way.” Mike A. – “I spent more time thinking about this question than I thought I would because the Yanks seem to have a ton of guys who are ever so close to figuring it out and taking off. After much debate, I'm going to go with Zach McAllister. Now that the whole "scrap the slider, try a curve, forget that go back to the slider" fiasco from 2007 is over, he can concentrate on improving all facets of his game as opposed to focusing on a new pitch. His stuff is very good and he has a good enough feel for pitching to really put on a show in Low-A this year. Plus he's big and strong enough to hold up for 100, maybe even 120 innings this year." Ashish - Dellin Betances Eric -   I agree on McAllister and Montero, but I am going to pick the guy that I assumed Mike A. would have picked, Abe Almonte.  He has a lot of talent for a guy who has been ranked so low on every prospect ranking list, and I really see him moving into the organizational top 10 with a strong season in Charleston.  He hit pretty well in the GCL this season while adjusting to a new position and being one of the younger players in the league.  He also showed very advanced plate discipline, which is a good indicator of future success. Me - Its always difficult trying to figure out who qualifies as a 'breakout candidate'. I really want to say Jose Tabata. He's been good, but not great for each of his 3 seasons, while preserving the potential to be an all-star. One of these days, he's going to hit .330/.430/.550 for some minor league level and do what we saw Austin Jackson do this year. By the same logic, Jesus Montero could have a major breakout year. A year from now, one of those guys is going to be a top-30 prospect in the minors.

If one player is going to disappoint this year in the Yankee farm system, who would you pick?

Pablo - “Jeff Marquez. I don't think he's that good, and AAA hitters may finally catch up to him.”

Mike Ashmore - "Eric Duncan is too obvious, right? I'd say either Jeff Marquez or Brett Gardner. I think the mention of Marquez might surprise some people, but I base that largely on the expectations that people are going to have for him based on last season. Yeah, he had a real solid year, but I think people might be overestimating just how good it was. As for Gardner, I have a hard time seeing where he fits in the Yankees organization. He's a valuable asset at the minor league level, no question...but does he just turn into Kevin Thompson or Bronson Sardinha once he comes up? If his batting average doesn't come around, all he really has a standout tool is his speed, and that can only take you so far."

Mike A. - "There's always a few guys that disappoint, it's inevitable. Bradley Suttle is too obvious a choice, so I'll go with George Kontos. He's got good stuff, but he just never seems to harness it. To paraphrase Jim Callis, between four years of college and pro ball, he's been dominant for exactly three months."

Ashish - Francisco Cervelli

Eric -   I'm going to go with Kevin Whelan here, as everybody seems to be assuming he eventually learn how to harness his sick stuff, and lower his walk rate.  While Whelan has always been hard to hit and has struck out many batters, he's already 24, and I'm worried that his control problem is likely to stay with him, and keep him from making it to the majors.  I hope I'm wrong, but his control is that bad.

Me - I think that Gardner is overrated at the most fundamental level, so he's the easy pick. Even if he does everything that he can do, he's not much of an asset at the major league level. He needs everything to go perfect to be an average offensive centerfielder. In addition to Gardner, I think that a lot of people are jumping the gun on the anointment of Brandon Laird. A few at bats in the GCL with poor K/BB numbers are relatively meaningless. He could very well be a steal, but he also could just be Mitch Jones all over again.

Tomorrow: We talk sleepers, Andrew Brackman, and more.

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