Pitchers
David Aardsma
A.J. Burnett
Chad Gaudin
Phil Hughes
Boone Logan
Damaso Marte
Chan Ho Park
Andy Pettitte
Roy Oswalt
Mariano Rivera
David Robertson
CC Sabathia
Catchers
Francisco Cervelli
Jorge Posada
Infielders
Robinson Cano
Derek Jeter
Lyle Overbay
Ramiro Pena
Alex Rodriguez
Kevin Russo
Mark Teixeira
Outfielders
Colin Curtis
Brett Gardner
Curtis Granderson
Chad Huffman
Nick Swisher
Trades: Yankees receive P David Aardsma from Mariners for Jimmy Paredes and Corban Joseph
Yankees receive 1B Lyle Overbay from Blue Jays for C Gary Sanchez and OF Neil Medchil
Yankees receive SP Roy Oswalt from Astros for C Austin Romine, RP Joba Chamberlain,, OF Slade Heathcott, and SP David Phelps
Yankees receive OF Chris Coghlan from the Marlins for SP Javier Vazquez, prospects Brad Hand
Yankees receive LF Eric Hinske from the Orioles for prospects Jose Ramirez and Wilkin De La Rosa
Top 20 Prospects
1) Jesus Montero, C, Grade A: I know that his position is up in the air, but I love this bat so much that I'm going to give him a straight Grade A. This is a Mike Piazza/Manny Ramirez type bat.
3) Manny Banuelos, LHP, Grade B-: Borderline Grade B. Intriguing young lefty, undersized but has a very good arm and has performed quite well thus far.
4) Zach McAllister, RHP, Grade B-: Strike-throwing-ground-ball-generat
ing-inning-gobbler with advanced pitching feel. A fifth starter, long reliever, or trade bait in New York.
6) Mark Melancon, RHP, Grade B-: Borderline C+. Relief prospects are hard to grade, especially if they aren't going to get a chance to close, but I really like Melancon. Great stats in the minors, with very good stuff.
8) John Murphy, C, Grade C+: Scouts like the bat a lot, but raw defensively. As with Sanchez, need to see what balance he finds between tools and skills.
9) Kelvin De Leon, OF, Grade C+: Broken record: great tools, lots of power potential, questions about plate discipline, need more data from higher levels.
10) D.J. Mitchell, RHP, Grade C+: Picks up tons of grounders, throws strikes, very athletic, needs better secondary pitches to reach his full potential.
12) David Adams, 2B, Grade C+: Power spiked in the Florida State League. If he maintains that, could be a nice surprise in Double-A in '10.
14) Adam Warren, RHP, Grade C+: Polished college pitcher could develop into another inning-eater type.
17) Andrew Brackman, RHP, Grade C: He's horrible as a starter, but has a chance to develop in the bullpen.
19) Jeremy Bleich, LHP, Grade C: The Yankees like him a lot more than I do, but I can't rate him higher than this given how badly he pitched in Double-A.
20) Bryan Mitchell, RHP, Grade C: Live arm, cost $800,000 to buy away from North Carolina, will need time but has a high ceiling.
OTHERS (All Grade C): Sean Black, RHP; Gavin Brooks, LHP; Jairo Heredia, RHP; Jamie Hoffman, OF; Brandon Laird, 3B; DeAngelo Mack, OF; Melky Mesa, OF; Juan Miranda, 1B; Hector Noesi, RHP; Ivan Nova, RHP; Eduardo Nunez, , 2B; Kevin Russo, 2B; Romulo Sanchez, RHP; Graham Stoneburner, RHP; Brad Suttle, 3B; Pat Venditte, RHP-LHP; Kevin Whelan, RHP.
Nationals
Pitchers
Luis Atilano
Miguel Batista
Nick Blackburn
Sean Burnett
Matt Capps
Jesse Crain
Livan Hernandez
J.D. Martin
Joel Peralta
Doug Slaten
Craig Stammen
Drew Storen
Stephen Strasburg
Carlos Zambrano
Catchers
Will Nieves
Ivan Rodriguez
Infielders
Ian Desmond
Alberto Gonzalez
Cristian Guzman
Adam Kennedy
Justin Smoak
Ryan Zimmerman
Outfielders
Roger Bernadina
Willie Harris
Nyjer Morgan
Mike Morse
Cody Ross
Trades: Nationals receive P Carlos Zambrano from Cubs for SS Danny Espinosa
Nationals receive 1B Justin Smoak from Rangers for 1B Adam Dunn
Nationals receive OF Cody Ross and prospect SP Ryan Tucker from Marlins for OF Josh Willingham
Prospects
1) Stephen Strasburg, RHP, Grade A: He's done enough in Arizona to justify the Grade A rating in my opinion. We have to remember that he's a human being, but he is immensely talented.
2) Derek Norris, C, Grade B+: Somewhere on the Mickey Tettleton/Mike Napoli spectrum: high walks, lots of power, defense should be good enough, might not hit for average.
3) Drew Storen, RHP, Grade B+: Has put aside concerns about being an overdraft. Could help in pen very soon, future closer if all works out.
5) Chris Marrero, 1B, Grade B-: I don't think he's going to be a star, but with proper development he can be a solid regular.
6) Jeff Kobernus, 2B, Grade B-: Another guy who should be solid, though I'd like a larger pro sample size before going higher with the grade.
7) Michael Burgess, OF, Grade B-: borderline C+. Power potential, throwing arm, and youth are big positives, will take a walk, but strikes out a lot and batting average is quite low.
8) Justin Maxwell, OF, Grade C+: What you see is what you get: power, walks, speed, low batting average. Can they look past that and appreciate his secondary skills?
9) Ian Desmond, SS, Grade C+: I think he made some legitimate improvements, but not as much as the raw numbers indicate. BABIP probably unsustainable, and he needs to tighten his defense.
10) Bradley Meyers, RHP, Grade C+: One of several strike-throwing types with limited upside but good pitchability.
12) A.J. Morris, RHP, Grade C+: Kansas State ace may move faster in relief.
13) Eury Perez, OF, Grade C+: Need data from higher levels, but could be a Juan Pierre type. I don't mean that as an insult.
14) Aaron Thompson, LHP, Grade C+: Pitchability guy acquired from the Marlins. No longer a top prospect, but still a decent one.
15) Juan Jaime, RHP, Grade C: High-ceiling arm with strong fastball needs to improve secondary pitches. Could rise rapidly if he does so. Perhaps I should go with C+.
16) J.P. Ramirez, OF, Grade C: Production was somewhat disappointing in the New York-Penn League, but not terrible for context. Full-season data in '10 will be illuminating.
17) J.R. Higley, OF, Grade C: High-ceiling tools hound, didn't light up the NY-P but still has potential.
18) Paul Demny, RHP, Grade C: Went 3-11 with 5.14 ERA in the Sally League, but with 110 strikeouts in 105 innings. Could go a long way if he improves command.
19) Marco Estrada, RHP, Grade C: I have no actual evidence to support this, but I keep thinking he could have a surprisingly good season in 2010. Nothing left to prove in Triple-A.
20) Jeff Mandel, RHP, Grade C: Looked very good in Arizona Fall League relief action; he might sneak in some major league innings.
OTHERS: All Grade C: Evan Bronson, LHP; Clint Everts, RHP; Marcos Frias, RHP; Victor Garate, LHP; Luis Garcia, RHP; Trevor Holder, RHP; Hendry Jimenez, 2B; Taylor Jordan, RHP; Nathan Karns, RHP; Pat Lehman, RHP; Steve Lombardozzi, 2B; Jack McGeary, LHP; Tom Milone, LHP; Adrian Nieto, C; Brad Peacock, RHP; Atahualpa Severino, LHP; Josh Smoker, LHP; Greg Veloz, 2B; Dean Weaver, RHP; Josh Wilkie, RHP. Most of these guys could fit into the 16-20 spots, depending on what you want to emphasize.
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