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2007 Preseason Top 30 Prospects

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The landscape of the Yanks’ farm system has changed pretty dramatically since last season, thanks to some crafty wheeling and dealing on Cash Money‘s part.  The Sheff and Unit deals landed the Yanks a total of 6 prospects (5 pitchers), all but one of whom jump right into my Top 30. It’s not all good news though, as elbow troubles have set back the careers of 3 of the Yanks’ most promising young arms: Christian Garcia, Mark Melancon, and most recently, JB Cox.

I had planned on giving a scouting report for each player, but Fabian of RLYW and EJ of Pending Pinstripes/Pinstripes Potentials have already done that this offseason, so I’m not going to regurgitate that info. Instead, I’m just going to tell you what I think about the kid. Even though he technically is a rookie and a prospect, I didn’t include Kei Igawa because of his experience in Japan. In case you’re wondering, I would have ranked him #9.Â

So here it is:

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Steve, you’re out of the family

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George Steinbrenner’s daughter filed divorce papers this week against husband Steve Swindal, a move that appears to end his chance to take over as head of the New York Yankees.

Jennifer Swindal filed the papers Tuesday in Hillsborough County Circuit Court’s family law department, Yankees spokesman Howard Rubenstein said Wednesday. Rubenstein said the papers cited “irreconcilable differences.”
…
Reached by telephone, Swindal said he didn’t want to comment beyond the statement or address his role with the team.

In honor of every man that’s been screwed over in a divorce, I say he should ask for half of Yankee Stadium in the distribution of assets.

Asked whether he still viewed himself as Steinbrenner’s successor, Swindal replied: “I can’t answer that other than it would be speculation.”

He’s out. Just can’t see it happening.

(hat tip to Pinto, with an honorbale mention to YF vs SF)

Update on JB Cox

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Pete Abraham is reporting that it’s not Tommy John surgery, contrary to what I said earlier. From Pete:

It was not Tommy John surgery as some sites have reported. Brian Cashman said that Cox had a ligament repaired but not replaced, which is what Tommy John surgery is.

This is less invasive surgery and Cox may not necessarily miss the entire season.

Some sites? Who’s he talkin’ bout?

Anyways, anytime a pitcher has the ligament of his pitching elbow tinkered with, it’s not good. Essentially, this delays Cox’s arrival in the Bronx by 2 years. First there’s the initial time missed with the healing and rehab process, then there’s the time he’ll need to refamiliarize himself with the whole act of pitching;Â pitchers who have elbow surgery return to the mound with notoriously bad control. It’s just part of the package.

Then, once he’s actually in game form, the Yanks will probably take it easy and send him to High-A Tampa for a warm up, then bump him up to Double-A Trenton to basically get himself back to where he was at the end of 2006. It’s not until then that he can begin to progress in his development.

Instead of debuting in mid-2007, he’s looking at late-2008 at the earliest.

In happier news, I found the greatest picture in the history of the world:

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Looking Ahead to the Draft, High School Edition

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Once upon a time I believed high school players were where it’s at, that a team should spend all 50+ of its picks on prepsters and completely forego college players. However I’ve been coming around on college guys of late, and now believe that they too have their place in the amateur draft world (conversely, Billy Beane has been warming up to high schoolers, taking 4 in his top 7 picks last year). In fact, I’ve concluded that a team should draft only college guys at 2 key positions: catcher and end-game reliever. Experience in these roles is crucial, and you can argue that they are the scarcest commodities out there.

But enough of that, lets get down to business. If you’re a Yankee fan, there’s only one guy to focus on for the first round: Jack McGeary. The 6’-3” southpaw will be graduating from Roxbury Latin High in suburban Boston this summer and has a – putting it mildly – strong commitment to attend Mike Mussina’s alma mater, Stanford (and it’s not just baseball that’s getting him there either, he scored a 2030 on his SATs). Over the last decade, the rule of the land has been “if you commit to Stanford, you go to Stanford,” as nary a player has passed up the Cardinal for pro ball since before Moose played at Sunken Diamond. That track record combined with some scary bonus demands (more on that later) is what will get McGeary to the Yanks at #30.

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Top 150 players under 25, Part 2

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The guys at Project Prospect released the second half of their list, with Melky Cabrera (#78), Dellin Betances (#145) and Joba Chamberlain (#147) joining the guys from the list’s first half.

It’s interesting to see where they ranked some the of top college guys, particularly David Price of Vanderbilt (#75 - 51.2 IP, 35 H, 79 K, 13 BB this year) and Andrew Brackman of NC State (#117 – 40.1 IP, 41 H, 38 K, 15 BB).