Daily News on Yankee drafts

[GimmeShelter]

Despite what we read here.

Yankees count on Hughes, Joba to save face against Red Sox on draft scorecard

Saturday, May 2nd 2009, 2:38 PM

Sipkin/News Phil Hughes

One suspects that Brian Cashman is holding his breath, hoping those sterling back-to-back efforts by Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain against the free-swinging Detroit Tigers were finally the start of something big and not just another isolated tease from his "franchise" pitching prodigies.

This was, after all, Cashman's grand design - a homegrown rotation of power arms, led by Hughes, Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy - fortifying the Yankees for the next decade. Hughes' six shutout innings on Tuesday followed by Chamberlain's seven innings of three-hit, one-run ball were particularly timely in that they coincided with Johan Santana once again demonstrating why he's such a special pitcher. And they came on the heels of that embarrassing three-game sweep in Boston.

Indeed, if ever there was an indictment of the Yankees' scouting and player development system it was last Sunday night, during the 4-1 loss to the Red Sox that was punctuated by Jacoby Ellsbury's steal of home, Justin Masterson's 5.1 innings of one-run pitching and rookie Michael Bowden's two innings of shutout relief - as it further underscored what a thorough beating the Red Sox have given the Yankees in the amateur draft over the last eight years.

Read it and weep, Yankee legions: Since 2001, the Red Sox out of the draft have produced four regulars, Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Ellsbury and injured shortstop Jed Lowrie, plus pitchers Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, Masterson and Manny Delcarmen, with Clay Buchholz, Bowden and Daniel Bard on the cusp. T

he Yankees have only Hughes, Chamberlain, Brett Gardner and rookie relievers Mark Melancon and Phil Coke to show from their picks. Of Boston's group, only Ellsbury was a first-round pick.

The Yankees' No. 1 draft picks since 2001: Bronson Sardinha, Jon S. Skaggs, John-Ford Griffin, Brandon Weeden, Eric Duncan, Hughes, C.J. Henry, Kennedy, Andrew Brackman and last year's disaster, Gerrit Cole, the Southern California high school pitcher who they didn't realize was intent on pleasing his wealthy father by going to UCLA rather than taking a big bonus.

Mind you, this is a player development department that hasn't produced a quality regular out of the draft since Derek Jeter, or a starting pitcher since Andy Pettitte. Considering the same people who are responsible for these busts are running the draft for Cashman, maybe it's not such a bad thing the Yankees don't have a No. 1 pick this year because of their signings of type A free agents A.J. Burnett, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira. They do get a sandwich pick between the first two rounds because of their failure to sign Cole last year.

It is Cashman's hope that Brackman, the 6-10 North Carolina State product who required Tommy John surgery right after he signed with the Yankees, will one day be part of that homegrown power-arm rotation with Hughes and Chamberlain. But he's off to a slow start in A-ball. Humberto Sanchez, the lumbering 6-6 hard-throwing righthander Cashman acquired as the principal player in the Gary Sheffield deal with the Tigers back in '06, was also supposed to be part of that rotation, but he was released last week, a victim of his own laziness.

So you can see why Cashman really needs for Hughes to fulfill his promise this year and for Chamberlain to find his niche as well. Otherwise, with the light-hitting Gardner looking more and more like nothing more than a fourth outfielder and pinch runner, Melancon and Coke loom as the Yankee player development department's only other draft products who have arrived and show promise. And the Red Sox are about to counter them with Bard, who throws 100 miles per hour and, as of Friday, had 22 strikeouts and just four walks in his first 12.2 innings of relief at Triple-A Pawtucket.

IMO a successfull Joba, Melancon, Brackman and Hughes would go a long way towards making this column no longer valid. The Dailey News also does not take into consideration the Yanks outbidding MLB for foriegn players such as Cano etc.

[AFJF]

Despite what we read here.

Yankees count on Hughes, Joba to save face against Red Sox on draft scorecard

Saturday, May 2nd 2009, 2:38 PM

Sipkin/News Phil Hughes

One suspects that Brian Cashman is holding his breath, hoping those sterling back-to-back efforts by Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain against the free-swinging Detroit Tigers were finally the start of something big and not just another isolated tease from his "franchise" pitching prodigies.

This was, after all, Cashman's grand design - a homegrown rotation of power arms, led by Hughes, Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy - fortifying the Yankees for the next decade. Hughes' six shutout innings on Tuesday followed by Chamberlain's seven innings of three-hit, one-run ball were particularly timely in that they coincided with Johan Santana once again demonstrating why he's such a special pitcher. And they came on the heels of that embarrassing three-game sweep in Boston.

Indeed, if ever there was an indictment of the Yankees' scouting and player development system it was last Sunday night, during the 4-1 loss to the Red Sox that was punctuated by Jacoby Ellsbury's steal of home, Justin Masterson's 5.1 innings of one-run pitching and rookie Michael Bowden's two innings of shutout relief - as it further underscored what a thorough beating the Red Sox have given the Yankees in the amateur draft over the last eight years.

Read it and weep, Yankee legions: Since 2001, the Red Sox out of the draft have produced four regulars, Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Ellsbury and injured shortstop Jed Lowrie, plus pitchers Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, Masterson and Manny Delcarmen, with Clay Buchholz, Bowden and Daniel Bard on the cusp. T

he Yankees have only Hughes, Chamberlain, Brett Gardner and rookie relievers Mark Melancon and Phil Coke to show from their picks. Of Boston's group, only Ellsbury was a first-round pick.

The Yankees' No. 1 draft picks since 2001: Bronson Sardinha, Jon S. Skaggs, John-Ford Griffin, Brandon Weeden, Eric Duncan, Hughes, C.J. Henry, Kennedy, Andrew Brackman and last year's disaster, Gerrit Cole, the Southern California high school pitcher who they didn't realize was intent on pleasing his wealthy father by going to UCLA rather than taking a big bonus.

Mind you, this is a player development department that hasn't produced a quality regular out of the draft since Derek Jeter, or a starting pitcher since Andy Pettitte. Considering the same people who are responsible for these busts are running the draft for Cashman, maybe it's not such a bad thing the Yankees don't have a No. 1 pick this year because of their signings of type A free agents A.J. Burnett, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira. They do get a sandwich pick between the first two rounds because of their failure to sign Cole last year.

It is Cashman's hope that Brackman, the 6-10 North Carolina State product who required Tommy John surgery right after he signed with the Yankees, will one day be part of that homegrown power-arm rotation with Hughes and Chamberlain. But he's off to a slow start in A-ball. Humberto Sanchez, the lumbering 6-6 hard-throwing righthander Cashman acquired as the principal player in the Gary Sheffield deal with the Tigers back in '06, was also supposed to be part of that rotation, but he was released last week, a victim of his own laziness.

So you can see why Cashman really needs for Hughes to fulfill his promise this year and for Chamberlain to find his niche as well. Otherwise, with the light-hitting Gardner looking more and more like nothing more than a fourth outfielder and pinch runner, Melancon and Coke loom as the Yankee player development department's only other draft products who have arrived and show promise. And the Red Sox are about to counter them with Bard, who throws 100 miles per hour and, as of Friday, had 22 strikeouts and just four walks in his first 12.2 innings of relief at Triple-A Pawtucket.

IMO a successfull Joba, Melancon, Brackman and Hughes would go a long way towards making this column no longer valid. The Dailey News also does not take into consideration the Yanks outbidding MLB for foriegn players such as Cano etc.

Some valid points but I have a hard time not giving the FO credit for Cano. Drafted the traditional way or signed as an UDFA doesn't matter at the end of the day. He was a young player that they acquired, developed in the minors and he's a great hitter.

[Morrissey]

The international signing period is just as important as the draft. If Jesus Montero turns into a special player it is idiotic to say the Yankees played no part in his development, same goes for Cano and Wang.

and Reyes for the Mets.