[洋基] Yankees' farm system packed with punch

[onlyyou2 (MLB 2006 by 989sports)]

by Keith Law (Scouts.Inc)

The Yankees have long had the game's biggest payroll, but their farm system
has lain fallow for several years, the result of some uninspired draft picks
and trades that rid the system of the few prospects who remained. Over the
last 18 months, however, the Yanks' system has made a stunning turnaround,
going from one of the five worst systems in the game to one of the 10 best.

What sets the Yankees' system apart from most others is the presence of two
of the 10 best prospects in baseball, something no other organization can
claim. The first of these two is right-handed pitcher Philip Hughes
, who should show up in the Bronx in the first half of this season.
The Yanks' first-round pick in 2004 has rocketed through the system, and would likely
have reached Triple-A this year had the Yanks not been keeping their best
prospects away from the Columbus clubhouse. Hughes has two
consistent plus-plus pitches in a 93-95 mph fastball with fair sink, and a
12-to-6 curveball, and he has a promising changeup as well. Hughes pounds the
strike zone and his command made some strides late in the 2006 season,
although he still relies a bit too much on his secondary stuff. A year ago,
Hughes had promise, but had missed time with minor shoulder injuries and had
command issues. Now he's one of the top two pitching prospects in the game.

Hughes' hitting counterpart on the Yanks' prospect depth chart is teenaged
center fielder Jose Tabata, who spent all of 2006 in the
full-season Sally League; only the Mets' Fernando Martinez and the Braves'
Elvis Andrus were younger among such players.
Tabata has an outstanding package of tools, but also has a degree of baseball
acumen not often seen in players so young. He
has a quick bat with developing power and good command of the strike zone.
He has good instincts in center, with a plus arm that
will allow him to move to right if he outgrows center. His season ended in
early August due to a thumb injury, but he's playing in the Venezuelan
winter league and swinging the bat with no trouble.


The Yanks' system also now boasts depth that it hasn't had in years. Trading
Gary Sheffield netted the Yankees another top pitching prospect in Humberto
Sanchez as well as two live arms in Kevin Whelan and Anthony
Claggett. Randy Johnson didn't bring as much back, but the Yanks did grab
another live arm in Ross Ohlendorf. Meanwhile, Tyler Clippard
 passed the Double-A test and looks like at least a fifth starter in the
majors, while 2006 sandwich pick Joba Chamberlain, who fell out of the top 10
picks due to serious concerns about the state of his shoulder, threw extremely well
in the Hawaiian Winter League.

The Yanks also added two more tough signs in Mark Melancon and
sashimi-raw flamethrower Dellin Betances. It's a significant
improvement for such a short period of time, and it's very bad news for
the other four teams in the AL East.

※ 編輯: onlyyou2        來自: 140.119.56.95        (01/29 10:05)
推 dreamysky:什麼是sashimi-raw??
推 onlyyou2: 跟生魚片一樣新鮮的?
推 tsuyi:請問有誰了解什麼是12 to 6的曲球阿??我知道12 to 6指得是球
推 mades:12→6...上到下??
→ tsuyi:的軌跡....有哪位大大會區分嗎??還有什麼2to8,1to7,10to4?
推 onlyyou2: 指的是12點鐘到6點鐘，之前紅雀隊Ankiel也會投這種球
推 heacoun:從捕手的視角，依時鐘位置的軌跡。
推 mmm333:12-6的曲球指的是垂直變化幅度的大曲球