John Sickels has published his “New York Yankees Top 20 Prospects for 2009” list. Here’s his “top ten” for the Yanks:
1] Jesus Montero, C
2] Austin Jackson, OF
3] Dellin Betances, RHP
4] Austin Romine, C
5] Zach McAllister, RHP
6] Mark Melancon, RHP
7] Jairo Heredia
8] Andrew Brackman
9] Phil Coke, LHP
10] Alfredo Aceves, RHP
Further, here’s what he has to say about the Yankees system, in general:
The Yankees don’t have anyone in the system that is a sure-fire superstar right now, but there is a lot of material to work with here on the pitching side. I love Montero’s bat, but defensive questions prevent a higher grade at this time. He has star offensive potential, but where does he play? Jackson looks more like a solid player than a star. Both Romine and Suttle have major league potential but some questions they need to answer at this point. Young tools guys like Sosa and De Leon look promising but are so far away that they are hard to rank at this point.
Things look much better on the pitching side. Brackman has a high ceiling obviously, but I find the New York hype about him highly annoying and, more importantly, very misleading. He is extremely raw for a college pitcher and until he actually takes the field in full-season ball and throws some strikes, I am keeping expectations in check. I like the guys ahead of him better at this point, particularly McAllister and Heredia. Coke and Aceves don’t have huge ceilings, but both look like useful major league pitchers. There are a LOT of power bullpen arms available.
Overall, this system needs hitters but has considerable depth in pitching, giving them a lot to work with on the trade market. They are putting more and more money into Latin America, and a less conservative approach in the draft should pay dividends.
…Brackman has a high ceiling obviously, but I find the New York hype about him highly annoying and, more importantly, very misleading…
A Yankee pitching prospect hyped to the point where we are misled about their true potential? Wow. That could never happen, could it?
9 Responses to “Sickels Top 20 Yanks Prospects for 2009”
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December 27th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Ok..this is what I have read about Brackman.
Upper 90’s fastball
Spike curveball
Poor command
How is any of that stuff misleading? Scouts have said it and people who have caught him have said it.
Now, is he going to reach his potential? Nobody knows because he is a raw talent.
December 27th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Overall, this system needs hitters but has considerable depth in pitching…
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I would say “considerable” may be an understatement; the Yanks lost 5 arms in the Rule 5 draft, and they traded two more away when they acquired Nady/Marte (even though they got an arm back in Marte). And they lost a few arms the year before when they were nontendered (TJ Beam, Matt DeSalvo), as well as Britton this year.
December 27th, 2008 at 10:05 am
“Yankee pitching prospect hyped to the point where we are misled about their true potential? Wow. That could never happen, could it?”
I’m guessing this is mainly about Hughes, but was it just Yankee people who were/are hyping him? Hughes was pretty universally liked as a big-time prospect by independent places like BA or Baseball Prospectus.
December 27th, 2008 at 10:07 am
Would you guys be more comfortable with Phil or Aceves as 5th starter?
December 27th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Would you guys be more comfortable with Phil or Aceves as 5th starter?
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Hughes. He’s younger, and projects better than Aceves.
December 27th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I’d go with Phil as well. Even though I’d just love to see him stay healthy for a full year either at AAA or the bigs.
A point on the main article. I wonder how good the Yankee farm system would be if they took the money they spend on free agents and spent it in Latin America, the draft, and Asia. It is part of the trade off with the Yankees, they are going to spend some money on prospects, but they are going to always make the big splash on established guys in Free Agency.
December 27th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
I wonder how good the Yankee farm system would be if they took the money they spend on free agents and spent it in Latin America, the draft, and Asia.
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Maybe they’ve taken a look at those markets and have realized that the players there aren’t worth the effort?
Having said that, they are active in Latin America, they’ve been active in the draft, and they’ve been active in Asia (remember Kats Maeda?).
December 27th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Brackman hasn’t had nearly the “hype” that Phil Hughes, Kennedy and Joba have had.
The comparison of Brackman’s “hype” to theirs is more deceptive than whatever “hype” Brackman’s received so far.
December 29th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Who has hyped Brackman? And where at? Hes never even pitched.