The Yankees farm system snap shot

[AFJF]

Okay, so prior to this season I heard a million different times that the Yankees farm system was depleated of any noteworthy talent but now Cano and Wang have shown that they are able to contribute at the Major League level and a look in to what some other prospects are doing makes the future look even brighter.

While only in low level A ball, first round pick Phillip Hughes is 7-1 with a 1.97 ERA, just sixteen walks while striking out 72. The fact that he's still in A ball shows me that the Yankees are being very careful and treating him with kid gloves. I hope he sees a promotion to Tampa in the near future, I'd definitely take a drive out there to see him pitch.

Outfielder Kevin Thompson was recently promoted to AAA after hitting .329 with 25 SB at AA Trenton. He strikes out a bit much (68 Ks) but apperntly he can work the count almost as well (53 BB) Went 2-3 with a double in his AAA debut.

Melky Cabrera. Now this is a kid that most Yankee fans have probably become very familiar with in the past couple of weeks. Rumors are swriling that one of the reasons the Yankees were refusing to give up Cano and Wang in a deal for any solid CF is because they think the 20 year old Cabrera can be just that in the very near future. A young switch hitter who was batting .267 in AA prior to a promotion to Columbus this past week has many thinking the Yanks are trying to see if he can fill the void in CF by the end of July. Cabrera is hitting .353 in his first week with the Clippers (6-17, 2 HR, 3 BB, 1 K)

Infielder Mitch Jones. I mentioned Jones a few days ago as a guy who could be dangled as trade bait. I have no idea why his name hasn't even been mentioned as a possible call up. He hit 39 HRs last season in AA and is currently batting .313 with 19 HRs and 56 RBI for Columbus.

We've all seen a litte bit of Andy Phillips who has shown some signs of being a good ballplayer. Phillips is hitting .331 with 14 HRs in AAA right now.

SP Alex Graman Gramans record is a mediocre 4-6 but his 3.46 ERA is respectable and he has a very good BB/K ratio with 33 BB and 83 Ks.

SP Colter Bean is 3-3 with a 3.07 ERA in AAA. Also good BB/K ratio with 19BB to 51 Ks.

Eric Duncan is a guy who shold be back in Tampa. He may be a great prospect with lots of potentil but as of right now he's batting .250 with 73 Ks. Granted he's got some pop in his bat (12 HRs) but he's also got 20 errors already.

SP Charlie Isaacson is 5-2 with a 2.77 ERA in AA and about a 3-1 K/BB ratio. Havent heard much about this kid but the numbers tell me he's got some potential at the very least.

In the coming weeks we'll see what Proctor and Jason Anderson can do. Anderson looked solid the other night against detroit and Proctor looked shaky but I'm not a fan who judges a guy after one or two outings.

I'll leave it at that despite the fact that there are a few other guys with a lot of promise in the farm system right now. Just trying to make a point I suppose. Despite what the "experts" were saying about the Yankee farm system it seems they have quite a bit of young talent thats coming along quite nicely and it's not the wasteland I've been reading about.

[Maxman]

Great recap!

Cabrerara isn't ready yet. But Steinbrenner is forcing the issue a bit. Which may not be the end of the world. In the past the Yankees moved players too slow up the ranks.

Give some of the kids a shot. The high priced vets are clearly not getting it done!

[Barton]

I've been doing alot of snooping around on the Yankee farm system and their latest draft

Here's some tidbits for ya

Yankees 2nd rd pick, closer J. Brent Cox of the texas collegiate world champions has GREAT STUFF. People moaned when we passed on Hansen for CJ Henry, but we have gotten the better closer in the 2nd rd.

Hansen faced subpar competition while Cox faced elite competition, but Cox still had the better numbers. Has an absolutely devasting slider with a decent low 90s fastball, but could reach mid 90s according to reports if he fills in his frame alittle. Harold Reynolds of ESPN whos been covering the college world series for 8 seasons says 2 things about Cox

1. He could pitch in the majors right now

2. He is the most impressive pitcher he's seen covering the college games along with Mark Prior and Huston Street!

I'll trust Harold on that one, he's seen him first hand.

CJ Henry has a slick glove and a potentially great bat, but seriously, he's not gonna be a Yankee if he stays at shortstop.

Melky Cabrera. 5 tool player. Switch hitter, with good pop and has a cannon arm and covers alot of ground in the outfield with his great speed. He's been absoltuely TEARING THE COVER OFF THE BALL since being promoted. Big Stein wants to call him up, but the personnel people would rather not rush him. Could see a few atbats in the september callup. Probably the Yankees best prospect. Only 20 years old

Eric Duncan. Don't let that .250 BA fool you. Its due to his poor start. He rebounded in June and hit nearly .300 so he's getting better. 1 of the yougest players at his level, just turning 21 I believe.

I dunno why he hasn't been converted to 1st base already. He's an error machine at 3rd base, completely out of sort, but it seems most of his errors are with throwing the ball. STILL, he should be move to 1st base. Has 1 of the sweetest swings you'll ever see. Powerful lefty made for the shortporch in right field, but he's know to hitting to all sides of the field and while he is striking out alot he is also walking aton. What I love about Duncan is the players he trys to emulate....Paul O'Neil and George Brett. 2 of the most emotional fiery guys baseball has seen in recent history. It would be great to see some Yankees show emotion.

Yankees 8th rd pick, Austin Jackson was a complete heist in the 8th rd. He signed with George Tech to play college basketball, so teams feared they would not be able to sign him, thus wasting a draft pick. I've heard scouts reports saying he would have easily been a 1st rd pick, likely Top 20, had he shown a full commitment to baseball.

Well he has, he just signed with the Yankees and won't be playing college basketball any longer. Great young centerfielder, massive upside.

Kevin Thompson finally got promoted. 25 year old, not exactly a spring chicken as a prospect.

Phillip Hughes has been dominating at charleston. Yankees 1st rd pick in 2004. 19 years old and is showing why the Yankees drafted him so high. Don't know his pitches, or how well they are, but judging by his numbers and his draft slot, I'd saying that must be well above average.

Tyler Clippard. FCL all star. Good control, likes to pitch inside. I'm high on him.

[Barton]

BTW, I love how these dooshe bag experts say our farm system is crap yet our prospects keep succeeding in the majors even in this recent season with Halsey, Wang and Cano. None of those experts thought 2 sh*ts about them and Cano is on his way to winning ROTY.

Sometimes I think these experts are just complete fools with how they diss our system. In a year or 2 we'll be among the best in the majors once again.

And when was the last time the red sox shat out a good player from their system?? trot nixon? LOL, that farm system is worse than the Yankees. Big time player Hanley Ramirez gets all the pub, and Eric Duncan has better numbers so experts shoot him down. F'em I say, and we'll keep turning out great players.

[Barton]

CJ Henry was also a 2 sport start, but like Austin Jackson, he is know fully committed to basebell.

Some scouts say his arm isn't perhaps good enough for a MLB shortstop, and with Melky all but certain to be the Yankees future centerfielder and Arod, Jeter and Cano as infielders, CJ Henry will likely be moved to the outfield down the line, possibly a corner outfield spot

"My athletic ability will allow me to play anywhere on the field. I can adjust," Henry said. "How hard is outfield? I've played outfield before and it comes easy to me. I don't think that would be a problem."

[Barton]

Bill Madden says that the yankees might not trade anyone for the A's MArk Kotsay or the Marlins Juan Encarnacion. He says that the yankees plan on calling Melky Cabrera up in August and having him be their CF this year and for years to come. Caberera has shined in AAA Columbus since being called up three weeks ago. Scouts say he is a potential .300 hitter and 20+ HR guy with excellent defense.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/story/324658p-277539c.html

[Green Jets & Ham]

Outstanding updates, Air & EB ... Can't tell you how much I enjoyed reading them

You fellas KICK @$$ when it comes to updating the Yankee system ... I always look forward to your updates

Awesome fellas ... Just Awesome

Thanks

PS. Sounds too me like we have some OUTSTANDING PROSPECTS on the come

[Green Jets & Ham]

OBTW, Wang and Cano ... where would the Yankees be without these two neophytes?

I'll tell you where ... around 15 Games out and in the absolute crapper!

All those experts who said the Yankee system is devoid of talent look like absolute and complete imbeciles

Those nitwits couldn't scout my nephews little league team

But we should all be grateful for their incompetence ... we would have lost a few of these kids last year if these scouts had the first friggin clue ... might have lost Wang and/or Cano, and some of the other kids who are tearing it up in the minors right now {as evidenced by the posts of Air & EB}

[Barton]

Waddya know! Melky hits another home run tonight

[Green Jets & Ham]

Waddya know! Melky hits another home run tonight

That kid must be HIGHLY MOTIVATED ... must be Jumping out of his shoes when he gets to the ball-park every day ... because HE KNOWS that he is only a whisker away from the BIG LEAGUES now

He knows the Yankees are HOPING he Gives them a reason to call him up

[Maxman]

Waddya know! Melky hits another home run tonight

He is too young to put up there right now. More importantly not ready yet. He needs more at bats. But it is a good sign that he is 20 and already at the highest level of minor league ball.

[Green Jets & Ham]

He is too young to put up there right now. More importantly not ready yet. He needs more at bats. But it is a good sign that he is 20 and already at the highest level of minor league ball.

MAYBE NOT, Max ... he's supposed to be a terrific CF as well, with a cannon for an arm

If that is true, Just his defense alone can help us in CF right now ... and playing defense is the same everywhere, big leagues or minor leagues ... and you let his offense come when it comes

Bat him 9th and play him in CF ... might be doable?

[Maxman]

MAYBE NOT, Max ... he's supposed to be a terrific CF as well, with a cannon for an arm

If that is true, Just his defense alone can help us in CF right now ... and playing defense is the same everywhere, big leagues or minor leagues ... and you let his offense come when it comes

Bat him 9th and play him in CF ... might be doable?

Can't do it. Not here. I know exactly what you are saying. This team should get enough offense elsewhere. Especially with Cano hitting the way he is.

But Melky is too young (20). The team wouldn't be doing him any favors by calling him up now. Not with the team struggling because there is going to be pressure on him. It takes a special kid to deal with that at such a young age.

Keep him down, get him some at bats.

[AFJF]

Can't do it. Not here. I know exactly what you are saying. This team should get enough offense elsewhere. Especially with Cano hitting the way he is.

But Melky is too young (20). The team wouldn't be doing him any favors by calling him up now. Not with the team struggling because there is going to be pressure on him. It takes a special kid to deal with that at such a young age.

Keep him down, get him some at bats.

Max, I think what you're saying is the exact reason why the Yankees are giving him an audition at the AAA level. A 20 year old who can be successful at the big league level is rare, but it can happen. Remember *Andruw Jones and Miguel Cabrera started tearing it up at 20 and 21? Instead of making a panic move to deal for a CF or rush this kid before he's ready, the Yanks are giving him a shot at Columbus and if he continues to hit, there's no reason not to call him up, bat him 9th and see what he can do. Remember when the Yanks were forced to start Jeter at SS when most said he wasn't ready yet? Joe Torre instantly took off all the pressure by saying "he's here to play defense, if he hits over .250 (I think thats the number he threw out there) it's a bonus". Well no reason not to make the same type of statement with this kid and see what he can do.

What I really like about Melky so far is his increased HR productin at the AAA level. He's only been there for a little over a week he has 21 AB (called up on 28Jun) and he's got three HRs. In AA he had 9 HR in 303 AB. I know in some cases with minor leaguers, the higher they go up in the ranks, the better pitching they see but at the same time the number of strikes they see goes up as well. So now that Cabrera has moved up another level he's showing more power against better pitching. Now this obviously doesn't mean that he'll hit 5 per week if he comes to the bigs, it just says he may have more power than expected at the age of 20.

*No I am NOT saying this kid is or will be as good as Jones or M. Cabrera, I am simply saying that he may be good enough to contribute at the ripe age of 20. Rare, but not impossible.

[Green Jets & Ham]

AF, that's exactly the name that popped into my mind ... Andruw Jones

Not only did he get called up at 20, but he popped 2 HR's in Game 1 of the 96 WS as well ... becoming the youngest player to ever homer in the WS ... verses us

Jones also played lights-out defense immediately

So yeah, it is definitely not impossible ... and it's not like we even have a real CF at the moment

I happen to agree ... if he doesn't look at all over-matched in AAA, after maybe a few more weeks, call him up and plug him in CF for defense ... whatever he gives us with the stick {initially} is gravy

[AFJF]

I have to admit, while this season has been a nightmare thus far, the one good thing to come of it is that we're getting back to seeing some of our own talent develop. I hated that we lost Petitte, Mendoza, Soriano and some of our other home grown talent.

If these kids in the 'pen pan out, Cano and Wang continue what they've been doing, and Melky or one or two other prospects help get this team back on track it'll be that much sweeter. I love seeing the Yankees win the rings but its sweeter when a good portion of your roster is home grown.

[Barton]

If he keeps at this amazing pace theres no reason to hold him down at AAA when he could give us a big time upgrade with his defense.

FARM REPORT

Cabrera's manager at Double-A Trenton, Bill Masse, said he needs work on pitch selection. His best hitting tool might be hand-eye coordination, but it also plays to his greatest flaw.

"The thing about Melky is, he has such hand-eye coordination that if there's a fastball up around his chin, he can still hit," Masse said yesterday. "And if there is a breaking ball that bounces in the dirt before the plate, he may hit that, too."

Cabrera apparently saw something he liked last night, hitting an eighth-inning grand slam to beat the Richmond Braves.

Once Cabrera improves his pitch selection, Masse said he will hit for average. In 75 games at Trenton, Cabrera was 81-for-303 (.267) with nine home runs and 44 RBIs.

Masse added that Cabrera made great strides in the field, especially with his first step. In baseball terms, he said Cabrera has a "plus arm," "plus range" and "plus speed."

(Sounds like Vladimir Guerrero 8) ) Which is pretty funny, because there was a poster at an espn board 2 years ago who had some kind of connections with the Yankees signing latin players and he said that Melky could be the next Vladdy. Everybody laughed at him, but who knows, he might not be far off!)

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http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...8p-277539c.html

As the deadline nears, there will be other starting pitchers available but they will be the back-of-the-rotation guys for whom the Yankees would be foolish to sacrifice a top prospect such as switch-hitting Melky Cabrera. The 20-year Cabrera, who has made the fast track through the Yankee minor-league system and is off to a hot start at Triple-A Columbus, is by far their most enticing prospect now that they've made it clear Robinson Cano and Wang are absolutely unavailable. Cabrera will take walks and as one Yankee operative put it to me: "Why would we trade this guy when maybe he might turn out to be the guy we're looking for in center field

[The Gun Of Bavaria]

SNAPSHOT OF YANKEES FARM SYSTEM