My Top 20 Prospects

1. Manny Banuelos, LHP AAA

The crown jewel of the system. Banuelos is one of the better LHP prospects the system has had for quite awhile now. He has a quality fastball that sits from anywhere from 90-95. He jumped to the elite prospect scene after his fastball jumped after sitting from 88-91 MPH. Combined with a plus changeup and a solid curveball you've got a great prospect here. He's got the intangibles too and he's been known for his maturity and poise which is unheard of for someone has young as him. He's had control problems however it could be due to injury. We won't know til he comes back off the DL but so far noting too serious. If we're lucky he'll be a September callup but most likely we'll see him sometime in 2013.

2. Gary Sanchez, C Low-A

All I have to write is Montero-esque bat but with the ability to stay at catcher. That alone tells how good a prospect he is. He's got a great bat but shows a better eye than Montero. He doesn't have that raw power but very few do. But don't be fooled he's got a ton of power as well. Scouting reports in his early professional days had him as a terrible defensive catcher. Difference is he isn't a giant like Montero and can be passable. However I have heard Sanchez's defense has gotten completely better but it's too soon to say. The sky is the limit. We won't see him in the Bronx for at least 2 years but keep your eye on him.

3. Jose Campos, RHP Low-A

Campos is the other piece acquired during the Pineda trade. Information during his Mariner days were pretty vague but when he came to the Yankees he blew up. His first 3 starts ended up with scoreless innings and he had legit no hitter bids in two of those starts. He dominated Low-A last year too posting ridiculous stats. He's a strike thrower and has a plus fastball. His secondary stuff needs development but have shown flashes of dominance. A lot of you who follow the system are probably disagreeing with me though for nothing putting the number four prospect higher than Campos but I'm a sucker for pitchers with great fastballs and command.

4. Mason Williams, CF Low-A

He's "finally" at the list at number four. Many in the prospecting community view him as the 2nd or 3rd best prospect in the system but honestly the first four sports are pretty close especially considering 3 of the 4 tops prospects are in low A Charleston. Williams exploded last year with a .350 batting average in Short Season ball at SI. He's also projected to be able to stick at CF, a premium up the middle position. There aren't many CF's that can hit and Mason is definitely projected to hit. However he is not expected to hit for a lot of power. In fact his isolated power is telling us he's an average hitter in regards to power. He's no slap hitter but we're not expecting 25-30 HRs here. Mason has shown good plate discipline though at a young age. He's still young so developing power is definitely feasible and if that happens he'll be the top prospect in the system. Think of Williams as former Yankees prospect Austin Jackson, minus the insane strikeout rate.

5. Tyler Austin OF, Low-A

Austin is arguably the best hitter in the system. He skyrocketed the prospect boards because of his monster year he's having. He's got an advanced approach at the plate and he can hit to all fields. He shows discipline and projects to hit for power. He is not set on a position however logging in time at RF, 1B and 3B. Unlike Jesus Montero scouts are not worried that he'll be able to stick at a position. He won't be a gold glover but his bat will make up for it if all goes well. Ceiling is very high.

6. Ty Hensley, RHP N/A

Hensley is the first selection by the Yankees in the 2012 rule four draft. Nearly every popular media draftnik has had Hensley going before 30th which is where the Yankees got him. A couple of teams were even looking at Hensley within the top 10! Hensley is a big guy at 6'5'' and many believe he still has some filling out to do. Fastball has touched high 90s and has a very good curve. He'll need to work on a 3rd pitch change but he has all the time in the world to do that. His delivery is inconsistent but has not worried the scouts as they believe his problems are minor and can be rectified by a professional team. He's got projection to go along with an already good fastball. People have been likening him to Josh Beckett as his best case scenario.

7. Dante Bischette Jr. 3B Low-A

Another Charleston kid. He's obviously the son of the former big leaguer Dante Bischette. Selected in last year's drafted with the Yankees compensation pick for Javier Vazquez. He's a sandwich pick however many believed the Yankees reached for him. Dante quickly put all thoughts of that to bed after annihilating the Gulf Coast league. While Bischette was expected to have a decent bat the scouts agreed that he would have no future at 3B. However he's showed that he's more than capable of handling the hot spot and in the end the Yankees proved they knew what they were doing.

8. Ravel Santana, CF Short Season

Santana has impressive tools everywhere. He doesn't have a huge flaw in his game. He's got a gun, he's got speed and he can hit. Only "downside" is that he won't have great power but should be above average. It's all about projection with Ravel right now since he hasn't played full season ball yet. However that's no fault of his own due to his young age and a nasty ankle injury he suffered while sliding into second. He made a fast recovery, a testament to his superb athleticism. If he can get hot in A ball he'll skyrocket the prospect rankings easily.

9. Dellin Betances, RHP AAA

Betances was once a top 3 prospect in this system with a power fastball with nasty breaking pitches. his stuff is still there but he's never been able to control it. In AA he tried and he got all the hype in the world. Now he's lost that and can't locate anything. It's silly to give up on a 24 year old though especially with stuff as nasty as his. Starting will probably not be in his future but he can easily dominant in the bullpen should he somehow fix his problems. Scouts said it's not easily fixable since he's extremely tall. Time will tell. His stuff though should he be able to control it puts him in Randy Johnson territory. And even he walked the universe until his late 20s.

10. Rafael DePaula, RHP N/A

A year ago DePaula was one of the bigger IFA names to be had. The Yankees swooped him up but he had visa issues that took an entire year to resolve. He's not stateside and will play in rookie ball. He's got a lively fastball that has touched 97 but stays within 92-94. The Yankees believe his secondary pitches are polished for his age and level, He's got good command and control to go along with all that. If he played an inning of professional ball in the US his ranking would have been a lot higher, but for now he'll round up the top 10.

Summary: The top of the system is strong however many of them are very young. In fact half of the list currently resides in low-A Charleston. But to be fair Gary Sanchez, Tyler Austin and Jose Campos are clearly ready for higher levels. All three have dominated Low A so far. Sanchez is being blocked by fellow prospect J.R. Murphy and Campos is hurt. Austin will see a promotion soon enough. The Yankees are short of quality up the middle prospects as they have better chances of playing in the big leagues. If you can man CF, SS or C then your bat doesn't need to be as good. But if your bat can handle it you could always move off to LF or 2B where the defense isn't nearly as hard. If a LF prospect fails then where can he move to? There's catching depth here don't get me wrong but nothing elite outside of Sanchez.

However they have acquired a lot of young arms. The organization will always need pitching and it's good to see a lot of promising prospects. These guys are fireballers and should rise through the system in due time. Again their youth means they can't help the big league team should they need reinforcements. There's Banuelos but he's hurt right now and in the middle of control issues to work out. The system has star potential but we're years from seeing the results. As a bonus I'll rank the next 10 prospects.

11. J.R. Murphy, C High A
12. Austin Romine, C AAA
13. Ramon Flores, OF High A
14. D.J. Mitchell, RHP AAA
15. Angelo Gumbs, 2B Low-A
16. Slade Heathcott, CF, High-A
17. Mark Montgomery, RP High-A
18. Bryan Mitchell, RHP Low-A
19. Cito Culver, SS Low-A
20. Adam Warren, RHP AAA