Written by Greg Fertel | 12 November 2009

Marc Hulet continues his series of reviewing the farm system of every Major League team. In this entry, he runs down a few Yankee prospects:

The Graduate: Brett Gardner, OF Gardner wasn’t a star during his rookie season in New York but he showed that he can – at the very least – be a useful fourth outfielder on a good team. The 26-year-old outfielder hit .270/.345/.379 with a .109 ISO in 248 at-bats. Gardner was a force on the base paths and stole 26 bases in 31 attempts. Overall, he posted a 2.1 WAR on the year and the majority of his value came from his defensive prowess (15.4 UZR/150 in center field).

The Riser: D.J. Mitchell, RHP A 10th round draft pick out of Clemson University in ‘08, Mitchell did not make his pro debut until ‘09. The right-hander began the year in low-A ball and posted a 1.85 FIP in six starts. He then moved up to high-A where he allowed 93 hits in 103.1 innings of work. Mitchell showed good control with a walk rate of 3.31 BB/9 and his strikeout rate was solid at 7.23 K/9. He allowed just two home runs all year. His repertoire includes an 88-92 mph fastball, curveball and change-up. Right-handed batters hit just .197 against Mitchell, while left-handers hit .290.

Click through for the rest. I am a fan of Hulet's and think he generally does good work, but he messed up a bit in this entry. He pinned Brett Marshall as his sleeper for 2010. As we know, Marshall will miss a very large portion of 2010 after having Tommy John surgery this season.

It's a pretty sloppy mistake, but it can't be easy breaking down every system, especially when it comes to guys who aren't the team's top prospects. It's an avoidable mistake, Hulet could always contact someone who specifically follows the Yankee system for some input. There are plenty of us out there, and we all make ourselves available to any questions.

Anyway, good work from Hulet on the other picks, be sure to check them out. Now, I just ask that he goes back and gives us a new sleeper for 2010. It's always fun to get some sleeper guesses.

Written by Sean P. | 11 November 2009

Here are two more guys who just missed our compilation top 30 prospect list. After this, we'll start with our top 30 prospect profiles that we'll run down throughout the off season.

Neil Medchill- OF

Medchill emerged this year as a major sleeper candidate after being chosen by the Yankees in the 11th round out of Oklahoma State. He finished the year with a .278/.350/.551 line and broke the club record in Staten Island with 14 HRs. Medchill also drew praise from coaches and scouts who love his determined work ethic as well as his dedication towards improving. He has a surprising amount of speed (stole 36 bases one year in college) and managed to leg out 2 triples this year along with 7 stolen bases. 2009 was only Medchill’s second season in LF so he’s still learning in terms of defense, but his above average speed should give him the ability to be an average defender.

The Yankees are relatively weak on power prospects which is part of the reason Medchill opened so many eyes this year. If he manages to find similar success next year against stiffer opposition Medchill will jump up this list quite a bit. He will also strike out a bit and struggles against left handed pitching which is to be expected. Hopefully Medchill can improve in these areas and move up our list in 2010.

Christian Garcia-RHP

Garcia has electric stuff. He has 3 plus pitches, a mid 90’s fastball, the systems best curveball and a terrific change up. However despite the natural ability Garcia has just not been able to stay healthy. This year he pitched 25 innings going 2-0 with a 0.71 ERA with 24 Ks in Trenton before having season ending elbow surgery in June. The injuries have been frustrating. Through his minor league career he has a K/9 rate over 9 and a FIP of just 3.39 but the 24 year old has never gotten past Trenton because of one injury or another. The last time he threw more than 100 innings in a season was 2005 so that's the type of track record we’re talking about here- its not good. However with his dazzling stuff he’s sure to get enough opportunities. For us though the injuries were just too much to keep him in the top 30 any longer. If he can have a healthy and productive 2010 though you might be seeing Garcia in the Bronx soon enough.

Written by Greg Fertel | 09 November 2009

Jed Weisberger gives us his Top 50 Yankee prospects, here are his top 5:

1 Jesus Montero – Ready to put up big numbers in 2010, starting in Trenton after hitting .337 (117-for-347) with 17 homers and 70 RBIs in 92 games between the Thunder and Tampa. Broken finger ended his season and he is hitting just .115 (3-for-26) with Magallanes of the Venezula Winter League.

2 Austin Jackson – Certainly big-league ready defensively.  Hit .300 (151-for-504) with Triple-A Scranton.  Power has not come,  but remember power is the last tool to develop. Depending on roster moves, will see time in New York in 2010.

3 Zach McAllister – At 7-5, 2.23 and a strikeout/walk ratio of 96-33, he was named an Eastern League All-Star.  Has the pinpoint control and mound manner to be a solid No. 3 starter. Ticketed for Triple-A in 2010.

4 Francisco Cervelli – Hit .298 (28-for-94) in 42 games with Yankees. Fun guy to be around and good hitter, just not for power.  Yankees backup backstop until either Romine or Montero dislodge him.

5 Austin Romine – Ahead of Montero in technique behind the plate.  Footwork and release improving. Batted .276 (122-for-442) with Tampa and will get a test at Trenton in 2010.

You'll have to click through for the rest. I've said before that I don't like to gripe about other prospect lists because everyone has different opinions when it comes to these things. However, I have some major complaints about this one. Usually, I can tell what a ranker values by looking at his top prospect list, but I can't do that here. It seems like he values players who are somewhat close to the majors, but leaves off guys like Jeremy Bleich and Caleb Cotham.

There aren't very many people who see Kevin Russo as a starter, so I'm surprised to see him in the top 10. Eduardo Nunez, who comes in eighth, seems to have a bit of a following, so there may be something there. However, I don't see it.

The biggest crime of this prospect list, though, is that Arodys Vizcaino didn't make it. Now, if this were a top ten list, that could be understandable. It's a Top 50(!) list, though. I cannot imagine what criteria was being used where a guy like Vizcaino misses the cut. I'm not going to keep going into all the problems I have with this list, but some other notable omissions were Jairo Heredia, Graham Stoneburner, Bryan Mitchell, Jose Ramirez, JR Murphy, and Wilkins de la Rosa.

Anyway, feel free to chime in with your thoughts on the list. I would really like to hear Jed's explanation for leaving Vizcaino off the list, though.

Written by Greg Fertel | 09 November 2009

As promised, we will begin to count down the top 30 Yankee prospects with in-depth profiles of each guy. We came up with an aggregate list based on our separate rankings, and will use that to count down. To start, here are two guys I would've liked to include, but failed to make the aggregate cut:

Gary Sanchez, C: I'll readily admit that including Sanchez is a bit hasty, but there is just too much potential there to ignore. The Yankees signed him for around $2.5 million, showing just how excited they are about him too. There were a few major concerns about Sanchez when he was signed.

One, he seemingly wouldn't participate in games, and would only show off his ability during batting practice. These concerns have been quelled quite a bit, as he has performed well in the Dominican instructs. I know he has hit a few homers down there against live pitching, and reports have been only positive about him, so far.

The second major concern was his size. At 6'2" and approximately 200 pounds as a sixteen year old, there is no real way of telling how big he would get, or whether he will be able to maintain that weight. In that regard, so far so good, as he has stayed in great shape. Sanchez has a very long way to go, but I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him head straight to the GCL next season, bypassing the Dominican Summer League. Here is some video of Sanchez hitting, before being signed:

Gary Sanchez (Hitting) from Kiley McDaniel

Reegie Corona, 2B/SS: I think Corona gets a little sold short, because he has seemingly been around forever. Sometimes I'm surprised that he is still just 22 years old, considering that he's been in the system for about six seasons. The Mariners plucked him from the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft after the 2008 season, and ended up returning him back after he struggled in spring training. I'm a big Jack Zduriencik fan, so the fact that he saw something in Corona means something to me.

Corona is a switch-hitting second baseman who can play shortstop if needed. His defense isn't great right now, but he is extremely athletic and I'd project him as an above average defender at second base. He doesn't really have any power potential, which certainly limits his ceiling, but power isn't everything.

Corona's one stand out ability at the plate is his discipline. Even with his lack of power, he has managed to consistently maintain above-average walk rates. He struggled in his Triple-A time in 2009, so he falls a notch below Kevin Russo on the depth chart. Given his Double-A success, though, he could be snatched from the Yankees again if they decide not to protect him. This time, I don't think they'd be lucky enough to get him back.

Written by Greg Fertel | 03 November 2009

So the Yankees lost last night, in case you hadn't heard, and today is the final off-day of the 2009 season. Lots of good reading out there for you today.

Like most of us, Chris H. over at The Yankee Universe has noticed Mark Teixeira's struggles. Unlike most of us, he went ahead and wrote about it. Hopefully he can pick it up a bit tomorrow.

SG takes a look at the value each player has contributed thus far in the postseason. Teixeira has been bad, but Robinson Cano has been the least valuable player on the team.

After watching Yankee catchers go to the mound after every pitch, MLB plans to discuss the issue in the offseason. Rob Neyer chimes in with his thoughts.

The Girl Who Loved Andy Pettitte mocks the second-guessing going on in Yankee Land today.

Sky Andrecheck wonders if the Phillies should have pulled Cliff Lee earlier, and goes through the numbers to find out the answer. The answer is yes, they should have. I would have pulled him earlier in Game one, as well.

Michael Lichtman takes a look at pitch selection theory with regards to the Brad Lidge vs. Alex Rodriguez at-bat.

Jack Moore tries to find out the Phillies best outfield alignment for the World Series after Victorino was hit by a pitch last night.

Joe Pawlikowski notes that Yankees fans are still optimistic, and with good reason. Count me among this crew, the Yankees are still in a great position to win this World Series. If they lose Game Six, then I'll start to worry.

And, last but not least, I'm going to link to my most recent post, an interview with pitching prospect Adam Warren. The guy comes off as very intelligent and seems to really know pitching. It'll be exciting to follow him as he moves through the system.