Now that the draft signing deadline has come and gone, we can take a second to step back and try to figure out where all the new guys fit in. I’ve always believed that if you draft & sign a guy and he instantly becomes your top prospect, you either a) landed an absolute stud, or b) have a bad system. More often then not, it’s the latter. Thankfully the Yanks aren’t in that position, although first rounder Slade Heathcott still slides comfortably into the team’s top five prospects.

For the sake of comparison, you can find my predraft list here and my preseason list here. Phil Coke and David Robertson have since graduated to the majors, hence their exclusion. So without further ado …

1. Jesus Montero, C – out for the year with a broken finger, but a .406 wOBP and a .222 IsoP in AA as a 19-yr is as good as it gets
2. Austin Jackson, CF – hard to believe he’s still only 22, but more power and/or fewer strikeouts would be nice
3. Austin Romine, C – constant improvement in every aspect of the game, there’s a whole lot to like here
4. Slade Heathcott, CF – toolsy outfielder has enormous upside, but for now he’s behind Romine because he hasn’t done anything yet
5. Zach McAllister, RHP – rock solid, doesn’t wow you … should contribute next year, but also doubles as Grade-B trade bait
6. Arodys Vizcaino, RHP – top notch stuff but slowed by a recent back injury … big upside
7. Mark Melancon, RHP – everything is there, just needs an extended chance
8. Manny Banuelos, LHP – Futures Gamer relies on polish and command rather than sheer stuff
9. Ivan Nova, RHP – after what seems like an eternity of waiting, it finally clicked this year
10. Andrew Brackman, RHP – well, he made every start and stayed healthy all year … that’s a positive
11. Jeremy Bleich, LHP – not performing in AA yet, but polished lefty should be a cheap back-end option sometime next year
12. Dellin Betances, RHP – more injuries, more walks … still dreaming on upside here
13. Mike Dunn, LHP – super high strikeout lefty just needs to limit his walks … a nastier version of Phil Coke
14. Graham Stoneburner, RHP – pounds the zone with three average or better pitches & is allergic to homers
15. Kelvin DeLeon, OF – gobs of talent and gobs of strikeouts, but has big time power potential
16. JR Murphy, C – raw hitting ability and defensive skills are there; needs experience and refinement, though
17. Frankie Cervelli, C – big league ready backup catcher … all that needs to be said
18. Jairo Heredia, RHP – missed most of the season with some kind of arm injury, but has rebounded well
19. Adam Warren, RHP - polished, pounds the zone, sits low-90’s and has touched 96 with SI … pleasant surprise
20. Bradley Suttle, 3B – out all year with a shoulder problem, but he can flat out rake when healthy
21. Wilkins DeLaRosa, LHP – similar to Dunn, but less breaking ball
22. DJ Mitchell, RHP – annihilates RHB but gets crushed by LHB, needs to improve that changeup to avoid ROOGY status … Gaudin 2.0?
23. David Adams, 2B – bat control guy with gap power & good on-base skills … I’m a fan
24. Brett Marshall, RHP – out with TJ surgery, but a big arm that was holding his own as a teenager in full season ball
25. Dan Brewer, RF – he’s a hitting savant … mashes lefties, righties, fastballs, breaking balls, pitches down, pitches up, you name it
26. George Kontos, RHP – out with TJ surgery, but was doing well in AAA prior to the injury and on the cusp of the big leagues
27. Kyle Higashioka, C – impressive all-around package behind the plate, but a million miles away
28. Kevin Russo, IF – super high OBP guy can play a ton of positions, he’ll be the backup infielder’s backup next year
29. Gavin Brooks, LHP – huge arm from the left side could move fast as a reliever, but might get another crack at starting
30. Corban Joseph, 2B – he can hit, but he can’t do much more than that

Damon Sublett, Matt Richardson, and Nik Turley were pushed out when Heathcott, Murphy, and Stoneburner signed. I’m generally hard on international signees (I want to see them do something, anything, in the States before I buy into the hype), so Gary Sanchez fell well short of the list. I’m a big Graham Stoneburner fan, but I’ll admit I was aggressive in ranking him. Hopefully it doesn’t come back to haunt me like Carmen Angelini did back in 2007.

Obviously major injuries to George Kontos, Chris Garcia, Bradley Suttle, and Brett Marshall affected their rankings greatly. Ivan Nova always had the stuff and projection, but never the polish to earn a high ranking. His breakout with Double-A Trenton vaults him up the list. Remember that the middle of the list is very fungible, I could have easily had someone like DJ Mitchell sitting just outside the top ten. It’s just preference, and this is how it shook out given my mood at the time.

So go ahead, file your complaints in the comments.

I post three personal prospect lists a year, but the pre-draft list is by far my least favorite. There hasn’t been enough time for anything to really change from my Preseason Top 30, except maybe for a few injuries and a graduation or two. However, I do like this list because it shows me how much my opinion of some players have changed in a relatively short amount of time. Obviously most of that is performance driven, but we also have to consider other factors like health and consistency. Joe Morgan would be proud.

Anyway, the top five prospects are the same as the preseason list, but you’ll notice they’ve been shuffled around a bit. Unlike most instances when players drop because they’ve been disappointing, this movement is due to a few players making improvements and having tremendous seasons. Two players have graduated to the bigs from my preseason list early in the season (Brett Gardner & Al Aceves), and four others have dropped off the list entirely for various reasons (Carmen Angelini, Humberto Sanchez, Brandon Laird & Steven Jackson).

Keep in mind that there’s really not much difference between prospect #3 and prospect #6, or prospect #11 and prospect #22. It’s just a matter of preference, so don’t get too worked up if one of your favorite prospects is lower than you expected. Anywho, let’s get to it…

1. Jesus Montero, C: destroyed the pitcher friendly Florida State League, and he’s now playing in AA as a teenager
2. Austin Jackson, CF: hasn’t shown much power yet and he’ll always be prone to the strikeout, but his walk rate just keeps getting better
3. Zach McAllister, RHP: more than holding his own as a 21-yr old in AA, and it’s not just because of the pitcher haven known as Waterfront Park (1.40 ERA on the road)
4. Andrew Brackman, RHP: he’s passed the “just stay healthy” portion of the season, now he needs to start fufilling some of that promise
5. Mark Melancon, RHP: low walks, high strikeouts, high groundballs, lots to like, he just needs to be challenged now
6. Dellin Betances, RHP: struggled to maintain the impovements he made in the second half last year, then he went down with a forearm injury
7. Phil Coke, LHP: he is what he is, a legit ML reliever that’ll make you nervous in big spots from time to time
8. Austin Romine, C: rock solid, and he’ll finally get a chance to get out from under Montero’s shadow
9. Jeremy Bleich, LHP: good K/BB, but I’m a bit worried because he doesn’t miss many bats
10. David Robertson, RHP: he’s done all he can in the minors, now he just has to take advantage of his big league opportunities
11. Manny Banuelos, LHP: tremendous strikeout rate (9.78 Kper9) and good walk rate (2.77 BBper9), lots to like here
12. Wilkins DeLaRosa, LHP: ditto Banuelos’ comment, except with a 9.70 Kper9 & 3.42 BBper9
13. Jairo Heredia, RHP: hasn’t pitched this year because of “soreness and tightness,” but all the tools are there for him to be very successful
14. George Kontos, RHP: stuff is finally translating into consistent results, he’s pitched his way into big league consideration
15. Mike Dunn, LHP: a two-outing hiccup in early May skewed his numbers, but he’s dominating both RHB & LHB with a super high K rate (11.53 Kper9)
16. Chris Garcia, RHP: flashing the same outstanding stuff, but as usual it’s just a question of health
17. Bradley Suttle, 3B: hasn’t played this year because of offseason shoulder surgery, doesn’t sound like he’ll be back anytime soon
18. Brett Marshall, RHP: holding his own in his first full professional season, needs to do a better job against RHB though
19. Arodys Vizcaino, RHP: big time stuff will be unleashed on the short season NY-Penn League later this month
20. Frankie Cervelli, C: filled in admirably while Jorge Posada was out, but he really needs regular at-bats in the minors
21. David Adams, 2B: showing good contact skills and plate discipline, in line for a midseason promotion
22. DJ Mitchell, RHP: burst on the scene in a big way, but has to do better against LHB to keep it up
23. Ramiro Pena, IF: big league defense, but another guy who should be getting regular at-bats in the minors
24. Juan Miranda, 1B: big time improvements against LHP bode well for his future as a trade bait
25. Kevin Russo, IF: struggling with some various leg injuries, but he’s flashed the same offensive skills he showed during his breakout year last year
26. Ivan Nova, RHP: save for one bad outing in early May, it looks like he’s finally having that breakout year we’ve all been waiting for
27. Ryan Pope, RHP: having an okay year in AA, but a move to the pen may be in order
    
28. Garrison Lassiter, 3B: keeping his head above water in full season ball, but he’s been on the DL for over a month now with a mystery injury
29. Jorge Vazquez, 1B: has tremendous power, but he’s got an odd reverse platoon split that needs fixin’
30. Jon Albaladejo, RHP: I still believe he can become a solid ML middle reliever

In my opinion, there are only two players in this draft class that would unquestionably become the Yanks’ top prospect if the team managed to draft and sign them: Stephen Strasburg & Dustin Ackley. Obviously, there’s basically no chance either player makes it out of the top three picks. There’s about three or four others that would garner consideration for the top spot, but I’d have to think long and hard about it. Not to mention do more research.

The second half of this midseason prospect ranking update comes after the August 15th signing period, when we know who exactly the Yanks have added to the organization.

Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac, Getty Images