I was going to provide details all the way from number 1-27 for the list of the most important Yankees in the organization, but then two things happened; 1. I had descriptions for 11-15 and my document closed itself without saving. I don’t know if any of you write a lot on a daily basis but when you forget to save your work, you have a lot of work you forgot to save, and you forgot to save your work and it involves statistics and all sorts of other things you had to look up and spend time on, the last thing you ever want to do is redo everything you just did! Well that happened to me, so in protest to my own stupidity, I refuse to re-write what I was writing. 2. Really, besides Dave Robertson, AJ Burnett, Alfredo Aceves Melky Cabrera, Austin Jackson and Andrew Brackman (yes, he made the list), there isn’t much to add to the bottom dwellers, so I’ll just provide the list from 11-27 with somewhat minor descriptions.
11. AJ Burnett: An ace makes a rotation, a solid two prevents losing streaks and wins you a World Series. AJ is Rich Harden except healthy and with less control.
12. Dave Robertson: Best example of an under-the-radar gem never touted in the system but who has stuff good enough to make him the next solid setup man.
13. Nick Swisher: OBP, TLC in the Clubhouse, and HR are just a few abbreviations which describe Nick Swisher’s value as a player in this franchise. It’s tough to really value a guy who has spent one year on the team and may be gone after the next two, however.
14. Austin Jackson: If you see more than two of: Swisher, Damon, Gardner and Cabrera starting in the outfield in 2012, that’s at least one more than I would guess as a best case scenario. That leaves at least one open outfield spot for “Action Jackson”, the second best position prospect currently in the system (which ranked between 10th-15th this season according to Baseball America ).
15. Melky Cabrera: His durability and ability to hit in spurts has bailed the Yankees’ thin outfield out in at least two different seasons now. Even if Melky never cuts it as a full-time starter, his versatility makes him more valuable than most for the Yankees’ franchise.
16. Alfredo Aceves: A durable arm in the bullpen who could pitch anywhere from the first to the eighth inning in a pinch? Every team should have one if they don’t already. Aceves is a long-man with the ability to spot-start and setup. He does almost all of these things effectively and at a cheap price when he isn’t overused, too.
17. Phil Coke: Coke, if he could ever locate consistently and keep the ball in the park, has secondary stuff good enough to warrant him the top lefty out of a bullpen in the AL East. For now, he’s a lefty specialist who needs to build his stamina enough to survive a full season but that’s normal for young relievers (even if they came up as a starter). Still, Coke is another good example of a Yankees’ system which keeps pumping out solid bullpen arms.
18. Ramiro Pena – He’s fast enough to be a pinch-runner, scrappy enough offensively to start a game here and there and a good enough glove to always have a place on a MLB team. Pena is also a fast learner who could play shortstop, second base, third base, and now, the outfield. A name like his will keep the Yankees from overspending on a guy like Marco Scutaro, who would cost 10 times the money and draft picks. (Disclaimer: Scutaro is a Godfather of an example, I mean more every team needs a utility guy and having a young and cheap one is always beneficial for a franchise).
19. Brett Gardner: He’s old enough now where you can draw your own conclusions about his ability to hit consistently. The outlook there is not so good for anything but a platoon hitter batting ninth. Still, Gardner ’s blinding speed and excessive range defensively makes him a weapon, and in the Age of Athleticism he’s a weapon who could be a quality second or third piece in a trade, or someone who makes it happen late in games on the bases. Anyone who doubts a guy like Gardner should look no further than Game 4 and Game 5 of the 2004 ALCS.
20. Francisco Cervelli: Young catchers with solid defensive skills capable of getting on base are an underrated thing. Cervelli can also leg it out, especially this early in his career. He’ll save the Yankees more than a million dollars when they don’t resign Jose Molina, and he could be the backup catcher for years to come. Anytime you can claim a guaranteed spot on the roster for years to come, you have some value.
21. Andy Pettitte: In 2009 he was extremely valuable. He pitched four clinchers, ate near 200 innings and provided a third reliable arm in the postseason. In fact, some might argue he was the number two guy. He’s won five rings here, he was a homegrown and he’s pitched in huge games. Likely, Pettitte will return as a second lefty in the rotation in 2010 and should provide solid numbers and a veteran presence.
The problem is at any time Andy won’t be here any longer and will hang it up. When I’m thinking of the future, I’m not thinking Andy Pettitte. When I’m thinking 2010, I’m hoping Andy stays healthy. His upside is as reliable as his career, but at some point the Yankees are going to plan around him anyway.
20. Eduardo Nunez: He’s younger than Ramiro Pena and the opposite defensively, but this might be the only can’t miss bat playing the infield without gear in the Yankees’ system, and scouts are starting to take notice.
21. Damaso Marte: He was absolutely useless until the playoffs in 2009 and as a Yankee. October represented the first time Marte was not overworked, healthy, and not rusty either. He responded with Vintage Marte numbers and was probably the second most important arm out of the bullpen. The Yankees have two more years of him and then they probably part ways, but in the mean time he’s the only other lefty in the bullpen with Phil Coke. Coke could use a veteran presence who knows where he’s coming from to straighten out some of his inexperienced problems. Marte could be that guy.
22. Ian Kennedy: I’m more than a little curious to see how Kennedy battles back from adversity. In 2007 he burst onto the scene in September and opened a lot of eyes with a dominant month. He looked like a solid middle-of-the-rotation guy. In 2008 he was a failure, a dud, overrated, had bad stuff and he was done. In 2009 he was hurt most of the year and truly fell off the map both as a prospect, a Yankee and a baseball player. He battled back to win the biggest game for the Yankees’ psyche against the Angels in September when he pitched a scoreless eighth on a day where nobody else was available and a win meant winning a series in LA for the first time in approximately 85 years. Now, Kennedy has a new slate in 2010. If he can provide just a little of the upside we once saw when he was the third piece of a triple-headed minor league monster, the Yankees will have an innings eater at the back of the rotation they stopped counting on two years ago.
23. Ivan Nova: Dude can pitch, just wait.
24. Kevin Russo: He’s getting up there, but Russo has never really disappointed, hitting .326 as a lead-off hitter last year in AAA (as an All-Star). Extenuating circumstances have kept him from getting a fair look in the majors. One day that could change.
25. Juan Miranda: The Cuban defector, unlike a long list of other prospects I could use these last few spots for, is older, established and has a bat good enough to sustain numbers against MLB pitching right now. The problem is he has absolutely no glove. If Hideki Matsui walks and Miranda continues to develop, he’s the best option in the system to replace Matsui as far as lefty bats who can’t play the field but can drive in runs are concerned.
26. Zach McAllister – Long-time trade pieces, short-time legitimate prospect. McAllister by all accounts has the potential to be a stud one day. Look for him to earn his way into AAA in 2010. Depending on who you talk to, McAllister could be the best pitching prospect left in the minors for the Yankees in terms of demeanor and overall stuff. He’s also more mature and less injury-prone than a Dellin Betances type.
27. Andrew Brackman – The Yankees finally get a high pick and then they spend it on a linebacker’s body combined with glass bones. If Brackman ever stays healthy long enough to learn how to pitch and maintain control, the Major League contract he signed right out of the gates thanks to Scott Boras might one day make sense. He finishes out the list because he throws hard enough, has a big enough body and enough pedigree to one day be an ace, even in the Al East. He’s last on the list because he hasn’t proven anything on any level of professional baseball yet.
Honorable mentions: Mark Melancon (tough to be absolutely vital when there are five other relievers on the list before you, and that doesn’t count Hughes or Chamberlain.), Reegie Corona (there is a reason he was protected by being added to the 40-man), Christian Garcia (please, just for one season, stay healthy and show that stuff off), and Chad Gaudin (tough to say if he sticks with the team, if he can duplicate his success last year, or if he has much talent, but for now he’s durable, versatile and provides nice insurance to Alfredo Aceves.)
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