Yankees Minor League Roundtable: Part 3

Written by Pending Pinstripes | 06 April 2010

As we head towards real live baseball that counts, we thought it would be nice to compile opinions on the Yankees from around the blogosphere. We sent out various questions to a bloggers from many different Yankees blogs and will be posting their answers throughout the week. We would like to thank everyone for contributing; I think that we have compiled some good information and it's always nice to have varying perspectives.

5. Who is someone to watch from the 2009 draft that we might not be paying too much attention to?

Greg Fertel, Pending Pinstripes: I know Axisa loves Graham Stoneburner, but I haven't seen him get too much attention elsewhere. It looks like the Yankees are sending him to Charleston, where I imagine he'll be a starter. He'll be an interesting guy to watch.

Dan LaTorraca, WasWatching: The two names that pop into my head are Caleb Cotham and Luke Murton. Cotham has some serious potential if he can stay healthy and develop his changeup. He already has a tremendous slider and aggressive pitching style, so I think he'll do pretty well in Charleston next year. Although he's a bit on the old side, Murton has a very polished offensive game and could climb the organizational ladder. He definitely has some power potential too.

EJ Fagan, The Yankee U:   I'd say that Graham Stoneburner deserves some more attention, based on stuff alone.

Mike Axisa, River Ave Blues:   All eyes will be on Slade Heathcott, but I'll be watching Warren. The only thing he needs to do is sharpen his breaking ball, and the Yankees are pretty good at helping guys do that. As a four year vet from a major college program with tons of College World Series experience, he should carve A-ball hitters to pieces. I don't think Warren will ever be a star, but he's got a lot of Al Aceves in him, and as we saw last year, that's very valuable. In many ways, he's another Ian Kennedy, except he cost about $2M less.

Matt, Fack Youk: I don't think either is a legitimate prospect, but I'll throw out two guys from the late rounds last year that I find interesting for odd reasons. Hector Rabago was an 18th round pick out of USC. He was drafted as a catcher, and we all know how deep the system is at that position. But he also saw time at second, short, and third while with Staten Island last year. He hit only .216 with an anemic IsoP of .045 in 131 PA, but he drew 13 walks against 16 Ks, and had an impressive IsoD of .110.

Sean P, Pending Pinstripes: Again I'd probably go with Bryan Mitchell. IF I had to pick another guy though I think I'd be real excited about is Caleb Cotham. The extremely polished Vanderbilt product has a good sinker/slider combo that could work well in the rotation or relief. He's got great command and its possible he could move pretty quickly through the system.

6. Do you see a prospect in the Yankees system that is routinely underrated?

Greg Fertel, Pending Pinstripes: Zach McAllister. He really doesn't seem to get enough love given how successful he has been. Hopefully, he can use his time in Triple-A to prove some of the doubters wrong.

Dan LaTorraca, WasWatching: Corban Joseph comes to mind. You hardly see his name on any of the top 10 lists, but he is one of the purest hitters in the organization. With advanced plate discipline, a terrific swing and plus-speed, he should definitely be recognized as one of the better players in the farm system.

Travis G, Pinstripe Alley: I would've said Ian Kennedy a couple months ago, but it's hard to pick one now because so many have been traded away or are brand new to pro-ball. That said, Z-Mac fits the bill.

EJ Fagan, The Yankee U:   By outside the Yankee blogosphere? Zach McAllister.

Mike Axisa, River Ave Blues:   I like David Adams more than most. It's a classic second base profile and number two hitter skill set: good defense, good plate discipline, strong contact skills, and gap power. He's not going to be the next Robinson Cano, but I can definitely see him as a solid regular for someone down the line.

Matt, Fack Youk:   I wouldn't say that he's necessarily underrated, but I'm very curious to see how Zach McAllister fares at Scranton. He's posted outstanding numbers thus far in his career, but generally speaking, sinker ballers aren't given much love thanks to their low strikeout rates. I've got a soft spot for sinker ballers though, so I'm interested to see how McAllister performs removed from the low run scoring environment of the Eastern League and the pitcher-friendly confines of Watertfront Park.

Kyle, Replacement Level Yankees Weblog: Corban Joseph is a personal favorite of mine. I haven’t seen him in any top 10 lists (that I can remember at least), and I think he already belongs there. He has great contact skills, a good linedrive swing, and has shown good plate discipline. He doesn’t hit for much power, but it’s important to remember how pitcher friendly the sally is and Charleston suppresses offense further.

Howard Megdal, The Perpetual Post: Well, I just want to plug Montero as catcher. His bat profiles as so strong, he'd have to be much worse than he is at catcher not to be a HUGE asset there.

Sean P, Pending Pinstripes: Hector Noesi seems to get glossed over a lot by fans as well as evaluators. He's posted great numbers with terrific command and his stuff is pretty decent as well.