So the August 15th signing deadline came and went, but sadly a whole bunch of nothing went on in Yankeeland. The Yanks didn’t sign their first or second round pick, and made up for it only by signing their sandwich pick, a LHP who may or may not have elbow issues. It takes about five years before you can accurately judge a draft class, but so far this looks like the weakest crop of Damon Oppenheimer’s impressive tenure as Scouting Director.
That said, the Yanks did add some nice talent and solid organizational depth, with six players jumping right into my Top 30. Overall the system is down quite a bit from this time last year, partly due to the graduation of Joba & IPK, but mostly because of trades, injury and general ineffectiveness. Here’s my pre-draft list, and keep in mind that the prospects I ranked 16 through like, 28 are pretty interchangeable. Fun starts after the jump.
- Austin Jackson, CF – best position player prospect the Yanks have had since Dioner
- Jesus Montero, C – doesn’t need to be great behind the plate, just passable … his bat will more than make up for it
- Mark Melancon, RHP – absolute beast at the end game, without question he’s Mo’s successor
- Zach McAllister, RHP – you gotta love high probability high schoolers
- Dellin Betances, RHP – has cut his walk rate significantly in the second half, which is one exciting development
- Andrew Brackman, RHP – number one this time next year? I sure hope so
- David Robertson, RHP – already shown that he can get big leaguers out, it’ll be exciting to see how good he becomes
- Jeremy Bleich, LHP – Yanks’ best LHP prospect since Claussen, which is kinda sad when you think about it
- Humberto Sanchez, RHP – getting healthy was the goal this year … next year it’s put-up or shut-up time
- Austin Romine, C – better than some people realize … life in Montero’s shadow is tough
- Brett Marshall, RHP – high upside prepster received the largest bonus in this years draft class ($850,000)
- JB Cox, RHP – stuff is down and he’s currently on the DL due to a minor knee injury, but he’s still good enough to get guys out in big spots
- Jeff Marquez, RHP – struggled in AAA before getting hurt … 2008 is essential a lost season of development for him
- Bradley Suttle, 3B – answered any questions about his ability to hit with wood bats … he should hop on the fast track next year
- Jairo Heredia, RHP – strikeouts & grounders … he’s the Latin American version of Phil Hughes!
- Alan Horne, RHP – injuries popped back up this year and he’s going to be 26 in a few months … that equals a drop in the rankings, no matter how good his arm is
- Wilkins DeLaRosa, LHP – electric stuff, but he’s still gotta get more experience on the mound … that’s the only missing ingredient
- Brett Gardner, CF – has a ton of value as cheap and moderately productive everyday CFer
- David Adams, 2B – a gap hitter with a discipline approach, Adams was considered a first round talent out of high school … the ability is in there, somewhere
- Carmen Angelini, SS – tough first year, but not everyone comes out of the gate playing like their hair’s on fire
- Juan Miranda, 1B – RHP masher should get a chance next year, but he’ll need a platoon partner
- Kyle Higashioka, C – Austin Romine v2.0
- Colin Curtis, LF – solid all-around guy with no discernible weaknesses, he’s got a chance to be an outstanding 4th outfielder
- Ryan Pope, RHP – firm stuff, solid probability, nice guy to have in the back end of your top 30
- Abe Almonte, CF – tons and tons of talent, but he still needs to learn how to make adjustments
- Corban Joseph, SS – with excellent bat speed and the uncanny ability to get the sweet spot of the bat on the ball, CoJoe’s got a chance to be an impact hitter … impact defender though, no so much
- Phil Coke, LHP – made himself into a prospect through hard work and perseverance … helps that he’s lefthanded
- George Kontos, RHP – not his biggest fan, but I can’t deny the ability and performance at a high level any more
- Dan Brewer, RF – very similar to Colin Curtis, but he’s a better hitter for both average and power
- Chris Garcia, RHP – for the love of God, just stay healthy for one season, please
If you’re curious, I would have ranked Gerrit Cole #4 behind Melancon, a completely healthy Scott Bittle #13 behind JB Cox, Jose Tabata #7 behind Brackman, Ross Ohlendorf #9 behind Bleich, and Dan McCutchen #18 behind Brett Gardner. Alberto Gonzalez would not have made the list.