Earlier today Mike Ashmore posed a question that piqued my interest: If you had to make a 25-man roster using only Yankees prospects, what would it look like?
Well, let’s see. (h/t Rafi for the email)
C: PJ Pilittere – gets the nod over Cervelli because he’s more experienced
1B: Juan Miranda – not much competition here
2B: Kevin Russo – let’s hope the hot AzFL carries over
SS: Ramiro Pena – slick fielding is all he can offer
3B: Bradley Suttle – I’m pretty sure he could outhit Eric Duncan right now
LF: Austin Jackson – heads to left because he’s inferior defensively to …
CF: Brett Gardner – team captain
RF: Shelley Duncan – team mascot Edwar Gonzalez – next best option
DH: Jesus Montero – not ready defensively, but how could you ignore that bat?
SP: Al Aceves – seasoned vet was an easy choice for top starter
SP: George Kontos – good stuff, Double-A success … why not?
SP: Jeremy Bleich – pitching for Stanford in the College World Series is the closest thing to the big leagues the system has to offer
SP: Zach McAllister – pounds the zone and gets a ton of groundballs
SP: Eric Hacker – tough as nails with Double-A experience
CL: David Robertson – best candidate for the job
SU: Mark Melancon – don’t want to waste him in the closer’s role
LOOGY: Wilkins DeLaRosa – I’m sure he can come in an let it fly for one batter and survive
MR: Phil Coke – how could I not take him?
MR: Steven Jackson – he was the man for Scranton in the second half last year
MR: Jon Albalajedo – big league experience + throws strikes = on my team
LR: Ryan Zink – wildcard … it’s nice to have a sinkerballer that can give you length out of the pen
BUC: Frankie Cervelli – he always was destined to be a backup
IF: Justin Leone – still technically a prospect and can handle just about any position
OF: Colin Curtis – can handle all three spots and maybe even run into the occasional homer
UTIL: Justin Snyder – pest can play everywhere and put up a tough at-bat off the bench
As I was putting the team together I tried to build a squad that would be the most competitive group in the bigs right now. I didn’t just list the best prospect at each position, that’s too easy. I went the more advanced prospects in general, especially the pitching staff. Guys like Brackman and Betances would be in way over their head right now.
So do I think this team could beat the worst team in Major League Baseball right now? No, I think they’d get crushed like a bug hitting a windshield. We’re talking about established big leaguers against practically children. The Detroit Lions would splatter USC too.
The only time they’d have a remote chance of winning is when Aceves is on the mound, and even that’s not all that great. The bullpen is pretty good, so they could steal a few wins if they have a lead after say, five innings. In general though, there’s just not enough experience on either side of the ball and too many rookie mistakes to endure.
So what do you guys think? (make sure you show some love and post your comments on Mike’s site as well)
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