Overall, 2009 Draftees Having Success in 2010

Written by Greg Fertel | 26 July 2010

It's obviously way too early to judge a draft class; usually you can't do that for five or six years. However, that won't stop me from taking a look at how the 2009 draftees have performed so far in 2010.

Slade Heathcott, 1st Round, Current Team: Charleston RiverDogs

175 PA, 44 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 9 SB, 5 CS, 17 BB, 41 K, .289/.370/.362

Not an exciting start, but also not a disappointed one. He's only 19, so the lack of power is pretty standard. His strikeout rate of 23.4% is higher than I'd like to see, but it's really too early to make statistical conclusions on Heathcott. Overall, I'd say Heathcott's performance has been neutral.

J.R. Murphy, 2nd Round: Charleston RiverDogs

249 PA, 54 H, 11 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 4 SB, 3 CS, 16 BB, 45 K, .238/.286/.322

Murphy's offensive numbers are pretty poor, but he is also one of the youngest players in the Sally league. He just turned 19 in May, so he's ahead of schedule. He's been splitting time between DH and catcher, which I'm a fan of. While it might slow down his catching development, it should also prevent some wear and tear on his body. Josh Norris of The Trentonian sat down for a chat with Murphy, so check that out.

Adam Warren, 4th Round, Trenton Thunder

93 IP, 72 H, 23 ER, 2 HR, 22 BB, 77 K, 6 HBP, 2 WP, 2.23 ERA

Out of all of the players the Yankees took in the 2009 draft, Warren has probably raised his stock the most. He dominated in Staten Island last year and is already pitching in AA in his first full professional season. His first two starts for Trenton have been so-so(10 K, 5 BB, 2 wild pitches), so we'll see how he does for the rest of the year at this level.

Caleb Cotham, 5th Round, N/A

Cotham underwent a second knee surgery(first was during college) and has yet to appear in a game this season. Last I heard, he expected to get into game action at some point this season, but I haven't heard any updates since then.

Graham Stoneburner, 14th Round, Tampa Yankees

19 GS, 104.1 IP, 68 H, 27 ER, 5 HR, 26 BB, 108 K, 7 HBP, 4 WP, 2.33 ERA

If Warren's stock has risen the most since the day of the draft, Stoneburner isn't too far behind him. He has been absolutely dominant this season, striking out more than a batter per inning and walking only 6.6 percent of the batters he has faced. At 22 years old, he's beginning to emerge as one of the better pitching prospects in the Yankees organization.

Bryan Mitchell, 16th Round, GCL Yankees

6 G, 5 GS, 23.1 IP, 22 H, 15 ER, 2 HR, 16 BB, 17 K, 3 HBP, 4 WP, 5.79 ERA

Mitchell was a big signability case, but the Yankees ended up inking him for $800,000. He's 19 and has yet to hit his stride, but the Yankees still have high hopes for him. The control is clearly a problem right now, but we're only talking about the first few innings of his career.

Luke Murton, 19th Round, Charleston RiverDogs

294 PA, 73 H, 25 2B, 8 HR, 26 BB, 40 K, .282/.364/.471

At 24, he's quite old for A-ball, but his numbers are almost identical to what he did for Staten Island last season.

Kevin Mahoney, 23rd Round, Trenton Thunder

161 PA, 39 H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 4 SB, 1 CS, 22 BB, 38 K, .298/.422/.511

Mahoney is quickly becoming one of my favorite players from the 2009 draft. He is a phenomenal athlete and it really shows on the defensive side of the ball. Last season, he posted a ridiculous +14 TotalZone in just 57 games at third base. At the same time, his hitting struggles as a 22 year old in the GCL made me write him off. This year, he's turned it around by showing a tremendous walk rate and cutting down on the strikeouts. It's a small sample, but it was enough for the Yankees to quickly promote him from Charleston to Trenton where he will serve as the team's utility player. If his defensive performance from 2009 is any indication, he should be able to handle shortstop adequately, and be a plus at the other infield positions.

Shaeffer Hall, 25th Round, Tampa Yankees

17 GS, 106.1 IP, 90 H, 24 ER, 2 HR, 18 BB, 77 K, 2 HBP, 1 WP, 2.03 ERA

Hall has been quite a surprise this season. When he started opening day for Charleston, I had no idea who he is. However, when you start the season with no walks in 21.2 innings, I'll take notice. Since then, Hall earned a promotion to Tampa and has been even better there by posting a 2.66 FIP(2.90 in Charleston). His stuff isn't overpowering, but he has great command and that is where his success has come from this year.

That's just an outline of some of the main prospects the Yankees picked in the 2009 draft. Of course, others have struggled, but they weren't as highly regarded in the first place. Neil Medchill has probably been the biggest disappointment this season, after dominating the NYPL last year, but I don't think that has really surprised anyone. Evan DeLuca has also gotten off to a poor start, but like Mitchell, it's just the first few innings of his career.