This past off-season, we took at look at each organization’s Top 10 prospects. It’s still very early on in the 2010 season, but let’s do our first update of the year and see how each of the No. 1 prospects are doing. Today, we’ll highlight the American League players.

Texas Rangers | Top Prospect: Neftali Feliz, Relief Pitcher (MLB)
Mr. Feliz is just 21 (soon to be 22) but he’s already serving as the Rangers’ closer. He has a 2.61 xFIP in six games, as well as a strikeout rate of 13.50. Feliz has converted two save opportunities.

Seattle Mariners | Top Prospect: Michael Saunders, Outfielder (AAA)
The left-field geriatric ward in Seattle is pretty ugly but Saunders is not exactly forcing the club to consider him. He’s hitting just .174/.240/.174 in 46 at-bats. Saunders is hitting .139 against right-handed pitching but, as a left-handed hitter, that should pick up significantly.

Oakland Athletics | Top Prospect: Chris Carter, First Baseman (AAA)
Shhh, don’t make too much noise; you might spook him. But take a peek at Daric Barton. He may finally be making good on his potential. That, though, could be bad news for Carter, as it temporarily blocks his route to the first-base job. The good news is that there may still be room at DH, as Eric Chavez is not exactly lighting the world on fire. Carter is currently hitting .292/.333.479 with two homers in 12 games at triple-A.

Los Angeles Angels | Top Prospect: Hank Conger, Catcher (AAA)
Conger, 22, is enjoying his time at triple-A. The offensive-minded catcher is hitting .282/.333/.487 in 39 at-bats. Interestingly, he’s also struck out four times… but he’s also taken a total of two free passes. With Mike Scoscia’s man-crush on Jeff Mathis at the MLB level, it might be a while before Conger has a clear road to a starting gig in L.A. The prospect or Mike Napoli could end up as trade bait. Somewhere, Bobby Wilson is quietly sobbing in a corner.

Kansas City Royals | Top Prospect: Mike Montgomery, Starting Pitcher (A+)
Just 20, Montgomery has dominated high-A ball through three starts. He’s pitched at least five innings in each contest and has yet to allow more than two hits in a game. Overall, he’s pitched 18.0 innings and has allowed just six hits and four walks. The young lefty has a strikeout rate of 13 K/9 and a ground-ball rate of 57%.

Detroit Tigers | Top Prospect: Casey Crosby, Starting Pitcher (A-)
Crosby is currently on the disabled list with a “tender elbow.”

Chicago White Sox | Top Prospect: Tyler Flowers, Catcher (AAA)
If A.J. Pierzynski was not entrenched in Chicago, Flowers would already be the favorite of MLB headline writers everywhere. Triple-A has not kept Flowers from doing what he always does: get on base and hit for power. His current triple-slash line is .316/.447/.553. He also has 11 RBI in as many games.

Cleveland Indians | Top Prospect: Carlos Santana, Catcher (AAA)
Speaking of offensive-minded catchers, Santana was off to a sizzling start to the year in triple-A before he fouled a ball off of his knee. That will keep him sidelined for a few days but it’s not considered serious. He’s currently hitting .364/.451/.727 in 44 a-bats. Of his 16 hits, four are doubles and four are homers. He also has 14 RBI and has scored nine runs.

Minnesota Twins | Top Prospect: Aaron Hicks, Outfielder (A-)
Clearly wanting to take it slow with Hicks, the Twins organization sent the former No. 1 draft pick back to low-A after a modest (but promising) ’09 season. Perhaps that messed with his head… Hicks is currently hitting .156/.269/.244 in 45 at-bats. He has struck out 16 times in 12 games.

Toronto Blue Jays | Top Prospect: Brett Wallace, 1B (AAA)
Wallace tends to get knocked for his lack of power, which is somewhat odd considering the fact that he hit 20 homers last season. Sure, he doesn’t project to be a 30-40 home run slugger, but who legitimately does these days? Wallace is currently raking in the Pacific Coast League with a line of .283/.377/.630 in 46 at-bats. He also has five homers, which is tied for first in the league with two minor league veterans. He might be pressing a bit to drive in runs, as he’s hitting .440 with the bases empty and .077 with runners in scoring position.

Boston Red Sox | Top Prospect: Casey Kelly, RHP (AA)
It was a bit of a surprise to the see the Red Sox organization challenge the 20-year-old prospect with a promotion to double-A to begin the year. After all, he had just 46.2 innings of experience in high-A ball. Kept to a tight pitch count, Kelly has worked just five innings in two starts, but he has yet to allow an earned run. He’s allowed five hits, one walk and has four Ks.

Tampa Bay Rays | Top Prospect: Desmond Jennings, OF (AAA)
Jennings missed the beginning of the season with a wrist injury so he’s gotten into just three games so far. He already has four hits, three walks and three steals.

Baltimore Orioles | Top Prospect: Brian Matusz, LHP (MLB)
Matusz is certainly making an early case for the best rookie in the American League. The young lefty has a 3.75 xFIP in three starts. With 18.2 innings under his belt, he has a strikeout rate of 11.09 K/9 and his walk rate has been acceptable at 3.38 BB/9. His extreme fly-ball tendencies are a little worrisome (57.8%).

New York Yankees | Top Prospect: Jesus Montero, C (AAA)
At first glance, you might say a line of .295/.367/.500 through 11 games is nice. But consider the fact that Montero is just 20 years old and he hasn’t been fazed one bit by the move to triple-A. His triple-slash line is actually pretty awesome. Rumor has it he occasionally plays with one arm tied behind his back just to make things interesting. If the Yankees offense sputters at any point this season, expect to see him penciled in to the DH spot.

Please refrain from quoting “small sample size” in your comments. It’s a given.

Our look back at the second seven days of the minor league season continues. Here is what I learned.

Jonathan Lucroy was promoted fast.

Not exactly the most publicized promotion of the week, but it took the Brewers as many games to move Jon Lucroy up a level as it did the Mets to call up Ike Davis. At the break of Spring Training, the Brewers opted to return Lucroy to Double-A, presumably so they could continue to let Angel Salome play at Triple-A everyday. But with Salome off the team for a few days with a personal matter, the Brewers used it as an excuse to send Lucroy to the level he belonged.

After starting the season 2-for-8 in two games, Lucroy hit .500 for the next eight games, including three separate three-hit games. In that time he doubled three times and walked four times, and with his .452/.500/.524 batting line, the Brewers didn’t see it fit to keep him in the same place he hit .267/.380/.418 a year ago. So, Lucroy was sent to Triple-A Nashville, and made his debut on Wednesday. The former third round pick started his Sounds career with a double, a walk and a strikeout in four plate appearances, and he airmailed his only throw to second base to center field. After throwing out 41% of runners a year ago, Lucroy is now 3-for-10 this season.

In my future talent report on the Brewers before the season, I wrote, “With his plate recognition, I have some good confidence he can be a .340-.350 guy, play two-thirds of the season behind the dish, and put up 2.5-3 WAR.” Now, I’m just wondering why the Brewers would want to only play him for two-thirds of the season. With Gregg Zaun hitting just .125/.163/.150 in Milwaukee, I have a feeling we’ll see him with the big league team this season.

Mike Trout is a pretty decent prospect.

This article is a couple years old now, but it serves an important lesson in context: teenage players in the Midwest League are often overwhelmed. In the linked article, I found nearly 45,000 plate appearances from 2000-2006 by teenage position players in the MWL, and collectively, they hit just .260/.330/.381. I say this as a long way of putting Mike Trout’s early season dominance in perspective.

Because of a late birthday, Trout will play most of the entire minor league season at just 18 years old. Some of the pitchers he’s been facing early this season have been 4 or 5 years older, and it hasn’t mattered one bit. The New Jersey outfielder has hit safely in his last 11 games, a streak that includes eight multi-hit games. He has a 8/9 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 65 plate appearances, and has stolen 7 bases in 8 attempts. And the make-up that has glittered his scouting reports since the beginning is still getting high praise.

If the 2009 draft was re-done today, Mike Trout would be a top 10 pick. He is also the Angels top prospect, and the leader of one of the most prospect-heavy teams in the minor leagues.

The Bradenton Marauders are good at hitting.

One of two minor league teams to hit .300, and the only one of 120 getting on base at a .400 clip, the Pittsburgh Pirates High-A affiliate has been a revelation. The team has three regulars with an OPS above 1.000, and that’s to say nothing of top team prospect Starling Marte, whose .364/.472/.523 batting line is only the fourth-best on this team. Overall, in the notoriously pitcher-friendly Florida State League, the Marauders are averaging a robust 7.3 runs per game.

If it’s not Marte that has emerged as the best prospect on the team — and I think he has — then the title belongs to Pirates top draft pick Tony Sanchez. The catcher has struggled mightily behind the plate (he’s yet to throw out a baserunner in 13 attempts), but it more than making up for it with his offense. The BC product is now hitting .316/.469/.605, drawing six walks in his last four games alone. And the team must be encouraged by the breakout of 2007 fourth round pick Quincy Latimore, who seems to now be hitting for the power that was once projected to him. Latimore has four home runs and a .395/.449/.721 batting line in 11 games.

These are all encouraging sign for a Pirates team that needed a big season the farm. With remnants of the previous regime like Latimore and Dan Moskos finally showing some life to go along with the bevy of prospects acquired in the last two seasons, things are looking up in Pittsburgh for the first time in awhile.

Perhaps not as visibly as Jack Moore’s earlier morning post on a reliever making good, Jay Sborz closed out his fifth game of the season in perfect fashion last night for the Toledo Mudhens. The second round pick way back in the 2003 draft, Sborz has fought through a barrage of injuries, and is currently standing above the slew of Tigers relief prospects as the right-hander deserving of the first call up to Motown.

In six appearances this season, Sborz has yet to allow a run, and has struck out eight of the 22 batters he has faced. More importantly, for a guy who entered the year with a career 5.7 BB/9 (and subsequently walked 7 in 4 innings in big league camp this spring), he has walked just one Triple-A batter.

Sborz was drafted in the second round of a disastrous 2003 draft for the Tigers, which started with Kyle Sleeth as the third overall pick, and has produced just these five big league players: Tony Giarratano, Virgil Vasquez, Brian Rogers, Jordan Tata and Dusty Ryan. However, Sborz has a chance to improve upon that list, as the Tigers have never given up on his big arm, even adding him to the 40-man roster this winter. Out of a Virginia high school, Sborz was chosen as the draft’s hardest teenage thrower alongside Indians first rounder Adam Miller.

As you might guess, command problems were Sborz’ first bugaboo, as he spent two seasons in the Gulf Coast League working on location, and combined to walk 58 batters in 86.1 innings. He has started just 11 games since then, moving to full-time relief work when he fully returned from Tommy John surgery in 2008. However, even since then, he’s never pitched 60 innings in a season, and has been plagued with shoulder problems even since his elbow was fixed. Still, from 2008 until today, he’s pitched about 90 innings, posted a 2.49 ERA, and struck out a batter an inning.

While the 96 mph velocity from his high school days are gone, Sborz can still dial it to 93-94, and his slider is sharper than ever. But stuff has never been the question for Sborz, and I don’t think it will be even at the highest level. It’s two things that Sborz must be past for this career revival to have a chance: he must stay healthy, and his fastball must stay in the zone.

The Tigers have been loading up on relief prospects the last few seasons — no surprise given their bullpen problems from the last three years — including taking relievers with seven of their first 10 picks in the 2008 draft. However, the best of the minor league bunch might be a once forgotten bonus baby that will see the Major Leagues soon after eight years of fighting.

There is nothing like the pop of a catcher’s mitt and a flashing triple-digit sign on the stadium radar gun to excite a crowd. But, as well all know, it’s not always about velocity.

There are a couple of interesting prospects in the minors off to fast starts to the 2010 season. Nither pitcher will light up the radar gun. And neither pitcher is a can’t-miss No. 1 or 2 starter, but both hurlers are interesting players to keep an eye on because of the extreme ground-ball tendencies that they’ve exhibited in their careers (however brief they may be).

The furthest away from the Majors is Joe Gardner, a pitcher in low-A with the Cleveland Indians organization. The right-hander was a third round draft pick out of UC Santa Barbara in 2009. If the early returns are any indication, the organization may have gotten a real steal with the 22 year old.

Gardner did not throw his first pro pitch until 2010 and he struck out 11 batters in 4.0 innings during his debut. All but one out came via the K, and that one other out was a ground ball. In his second start five days later, Gardner struck out “just” seven batters while allowing two hits in 5.0 innings. He also induced eight ground ball outs and did not record a fly ball out (for the second straight game). Last night, the streak ended as Gardner finally gave up a fly ball out (but just one). In five innings, he allowed two hits again and struck out another eight batters. He recorded six more ground-ball outs.

Gardner has recorded 42 outs in total this year: 17 ground-ball outs (40% of his outs) and 26 strikeouts (62%), It’s early but methinks low-A might be a little too low for this pitcher. (*That totals 102% thanks to an error on a ground ball, which was then negated by a GB double-play).

The second pitcher has much more experience than Gardner. Luis Perez, a southpaw in the Toronto Blue Jays system, is beginning his second straight year with double-A – although to no fault of his own. Perez had a respectable season in ’09 and lost his spot due to a roster crunch at the triple-A level, which saw six or seven triple-A vets make the squad.

Perez’ ’09 season included a 4.18 FIP and a ground-ball rate just shy of 57%. His strikeout rate did drop below 7.0 K% for the first time in his career. The lefty has not been missing as many bats as Gardner this season (11 Ks in 17.0 innings) but he’s allowed just two hits total in three starts. Double-A hitters have a .039 batting average against Perez. He’s allowed eight fly-ball outs this season and 26 ground-ball outs, good for 51% of his outs.

Perez’ ceiling is probably that of a No. 4 starter or long reliever. He’s especially effective against lefties, having held them to a career .189 average and 69% ground-ball rate, so he can always fall back into a LOOGY role.

With yesterday’s cut of first baseman Mike Jacobs in New York, Mets followers are eagerly anticipating word that top hitting prospect Ike Davis is on his way to the Majors. It’s certainly not a huge leap to expect the former first round draft pick to be a better offensive contributor than bench warmer Fernando Tatis, the currently-injured Daniel Murphy, or Jacobs.

Davis has hit well this year in triple-A, albeit in a small sample size of 33 at-bats. (The quick trigger suggests that Mets management is feeling some heat to win… quickly). Davis has an overall line of .364/.500/.636 and is showing a good eye with nine walks to five strikeouts.

The former Arizona State two-way player had a slow start to his career, which included a well-publicized 215-at-bat debut without a homer. Well, questions about Davis’ power have all but been answered. The left-handed hitter slugged 20 homers last year and posted a .256 ISO rate in half a season at double-A.

He also showed patience last year by posting a walk rate of more than 11%, but the strikeouts could be an issue, especially early on in his MLB career. Davis had a 26% strikeout rate last season. It remains to be seen how well Davis will hit for average; it’s risen with each promotion but so has his BABIP, which was up to .381 in double-A. Given his lack of foot speed, Davis is unlikely to maintain that high rate as a result, which will ultimately be felt in the batting average. His struggles against southpaws could also be an issue (OPS of .672 vs southpaws in ’09, 1.000 vs right-handers) unless a platoon situation – which would make a lot of sense – is utilized, at least early on in his career.

Defensively, Davis should be an upgrade. As a former two-way player he has a strong arm, which is why he also spent time in the outfield in college (where his lack of speed hurt him).

It’s pretty clear that promoting Davis is pretty much a no-lose situation for the Mets at this point… aside from service time, which is irrelevant for a team serious about contending in 2010. He has the potential to be a Rookie of the Year candidate in the National League, which is great for PR… something the organization could use.

The fourth player from the 2008 Amateur Draft to reach the Major Leagues, Gordon Beckham has taken the early lead as the most successful pick in that draft. Beckham’s success is no surprise to scouts: his amateur pedigree was among the draft’s best. The infielder started every game the Georgia Bulldogs played from 2006 to 2008, including two seasons with runs to the College World Series. I ranked him as the ninth-best prospect from the 2007 Cape Cod League, acknowledging that a move off the shortstop position was likely. After that summer, Beckham truly broke out as a junior, hitting a D1-leading 28 home runs, with a .411/.519/.804 batting line. The rest is history.

In this year’s 2010 draft, one of the most pitcher-heavy in recent memory, there is a player that matches a lot of the points on Beckham’s resume: power hitter, dubious shortstop skills, junior season breakout, started every game in a tough conference over three seasons. And yet, Georgia Tech SS Derek Dietrich is not getting the first round play that Beckham received just two seasons ago. Considering that Dietrich was a high draft pick out of high school (third round Astros pick), where Beckham was not, the discrepancy in prospect status hasn’t always been the case.

Today, I want to investigate if we can see the divide from a statistical perspective, by comparing the performances of each during their three college seasons, as well as the Cape Cod League between their sophomore and junior years. First, we have the freshman campaigns for each player:

Name   AVG/OBP/SLG    AB   BB   SO   SB-AT
DD     332/410/592   238   26   50    3-4
GB     280/348/490   286   27   58    5-6

Since we established that Dietrich was considered the better high school prospect, it’s not real surprising that he had a better freshman season. The two had equal strikeout rates, so Dietrich’s advantage in average is the case of a better BABIP. Considering the respective conferences, both players were huge assets to their schools. Now, as sophomores:

Name   AVG/OBP/SLG    AB   BB   SO   SB-AT
DD     311/426/511   225   30   48    5-5
GB     307/399/570   228   31   33    6-12

If there is a divide in these players, it starts in Year Two. In this season, we see that Gordon takes a huge step in decreasing strikeouts, while simultaneously adding power. Dietrich, on the other hand, went from 32 XBH as a freshman to 21 as a sophomore, so there was a case of a little second-year slump. His advantage over Beckham in on-base percentage is due to 16 hits by pitch, and there is no reason to think he won’t continue to get plunked at a high rate. Let’s move onto the Cape Cod League summers:

Name   AVG/OBP/SLG    AB   BB   SO   SB-AT
DD     211/348/329   152   27   46    4-9
GB     284/370/529   155   17   40    6-7

Where I ranked Beckham highly his season, Keith Law didn’t rank Dietrich as one of the top 30 Cape prospects last summer. The two both had problems striking out against heightened competition with wood bats, but Beckham showed power (19 XBH) where Dietrich’s was more average (11 XBH). The latter was more patient, so he does show one skill over Beckham. Finally, let’s jump to the junior years:

Name   AVG/OBP/SLG    AB   BB   SO   SB-AT
DD     347/453/708   144   14   19    7-8
GB     411/519/804   275   54   30   17-21

Dietrich’s advantage in patience disappears, although their Isolated Disciplines are equal because the Tech shortstop has 14 HBP through 36 games. Dietrich has cut down on the strikeouts, but not to the degree that Beckham did in his final season with Georgia. Dietrich has already passed his XBH total from last season, and is plugging along at a power pace just below Beckham’s 2008 dominance.

*****

Part of the reason that Dietrich doesn’t get the prospect love that Beckham received in 2008 is due to a perceived difference in athleticism. Where Beckham slowly convinced some scouts he could stick at shortstop, Dietrich never has done the same. Offensively, Dietrich has shown the unfortunate combination of a little less power with a little more strikeouts, but his patience skills are right up there. I think the discrepancy between the two is a little overdone, and that Dietrich deserves more first round consideration than he has received. But despite their similarities in pedigree, these are not the same players, and Dietrich achieving Beckham’s quick success is unlikely.

At 26 years of age, Kila Ka’aihue is wasting away at triple-A. It’s become painfully clear that the Kansas City Royals organization cannot see the value in a player with 20 home run power and 100-walk capability. It’s time to free Kila Ka’aihue.

Right now, there are a couple teams in the Majors that could use an upgrade at the first base position. The Baltimore Orioles club is currently paying Garrett Atkins $4.5 million for 2010 after he posted a negative WAR in ’09 with the Rockies. He currently has a .252 wOBA and has shown almost no power through the first two weeks of ’10.

The club’s top first base prospect is Brandon Snyder, who is probably about a year away from being a regular contributor in the Majors. His strength is his ability to hit for a pretty good average and he grades out as an average-at-best first baseman from an offensive perspective. He swings from the right side and would make a pretty nice platoon partner with Ka’aihue, who is a left-handed batter. Together, the two players would make less than $1 million in 2010 and ’11.

Ka’aihue could also be an immediate upgrade in New York where the Mets club is currently employing a two-man mess at the first base position. Neither Fernando Tatis nor Mike Jacobs have any business playing first base regularly for a big league team. Oh, but they’re just holding the spot warm for Daniel Murphy, who’s currently injured. Coming off of a 0.9 WAR season, though, he might actually be more valuable for the club on the DL than at first base.

The issues with flipping Ka’aihue to the Mets is that the club’s top offensive prospect is also a first baseman. Ike Davis is currently hitting rather well at triple-A and may not be that far away from being MLB ready. One option here, though, is that Davis has experience playing the outfield and he could be shifted there to make room for Ka’aihue, if the big league club were to try and trade Jeff Francoeur while his value is on the upswing. Is this the best option for the Mets? Perhaps not, but it’s something to at least think about considering the team is going no where fast.

Ka’aihue probably fits best with the O’s. The club is second last in the American League in on-base percentage (.309) and is 11th (out of 14 teams) in slugging percentage. Those just happen to be the two areas that Ka’aihue excels in. He slugged 37 homers between double-A and triple-A in ’08 and followed that up with 17 at triple-A in ’09. He’s walked 100+ times in each of the past two seasons and had a walk rate of 18.4% in ’09. His BB/K rate was an impressive 1.20.

Ka’aihue is not without his warts. He’ll likely provide a .240-.260 average in the Majors and he’s definitely not the most athletic player. At 26, he’s no spring chicken and he possesses “old player skills, ” which means he could fade out quickly if you believe in the concept. Even so, he has the potential to be a high-reward, low-risk option for the O’s (or Mets) and it shouldn’t cost too much to pry him away from the Royals organization.

Having good pitching depth within an organization means that a MLB starter should never get too comfortable. Orioles right-hander Brad Bergesen is no doubt looking over his shoulder after two poor outings to start the season. The right-handed pitcher, best known for his sinking fastball, has allowed 15 hits and three walks in 7.2 innings. Bergesen’s fastball command has betrayed him so far this year and he got just one ground-ball out (compared two five fly-ball outs) last night against the Tampa Bay Rays.

There are currently two key pitching prospects biding their time in triple-A Norfolk. Jake Arrieta, 24, has seen his ground-ball rate take the opposite turn to Bergesen’s. In two starts, he’s allowed just six hits in 12.0 innings. On Wednesday night against the White Sox’ triple-A affiliate in Charlotte, Arrieta induced 11 ground-ball outs and gave up just four fly-ball outs. If he can keep up the worm burning it will help him while pitching in the potent American League East. His biggest need right now is to improve his control after walking six batters in 12.0 innings; it’s an issue that plagued him last season, as well.

Chris Tillman, 22, is technically no longer a rookie but the O’s sent him back to triple-A to begin 2010. He made 12 starts in the Majors in ’09 and he posted a FIP of 6.10. He showed OK control for his age with a walk rate of 3.32 BB/9 but his strikeout rate was on the low side at 5.40 K/9. Tillman struggled significantly with his fastball and posted a -1.62 wFB/C (fastball value, runs above average per 100 pitches). He’s struggling a bit in triple-A right now with a 5.19 ERA in two starts. He’s allowed 13 hits in 8.2 innings. On the plus side, he has struck out nine batters and walked just two.

If those two pitching options don’t do anything for you, the club has Brandon Erbe (22) and Troy Patton (24) in the Norfolk starting rotation. The organization also has the luxury of looking to MLB reliever Jason Berken, who was in the starting rotation last season for Baltimore, albeit with ugly results. His approach is better suited to the bullpen.

It’s still early – and too soon to panic – but the Orioles club plays in the American League East where every win counts. The club is not going to wait forever for Bergesen to find his mojo, especially when they have the luxury of quality pitching depth.

During Monday’s All-Day chat here at FanGraphs, someone asked our favorite teams and I piped up with the Colorado Rockies (I’m watching them right now) and the Tampa Bay Rays. My main reason for listing those two teams is simple: They both developed much of their own talent. As a prospect follower, that’s a pretty big positive.

So, let’s have a look at exactly where the Rays’ and Rox’ 2010 Opening Day talent comes from.

Tampa Bay Rays
James Shields: Drafted
Matt Garza: Trade
David Price: Drafted
Jeff Niemann: Drafted
Wade Davis: Drafted

Rafael Soriano: Trade
Dan Wheeler: Trade
Andy Sonnanstine: Drafted
Grant Balfour: Trade
Mike Ekstrom: Waivers
Lance Cormier: Free Agent
Randy Choate: Free Agent

Kelly Shoppach: Trade
Carlos Pena: Free Agent
Sean Rodriguez: Trade
Evan Longoria: Draft
Jason Bartlett: Trade
Pat Burrell: Free Agent
Carl Crawford: Draft
B.J. Upton: Draft
Ben Zobrist: Trade

Dioner Navarro: Trade
Reid Brignac: Draft
Willy Aybar: Trade
Gabe Kapler: Free Agent

Totals:
Drafted: 9
Amateur Draft: 0
Traded: 10
Free Agency: 5
Waived: 1

Read the rest of this entry »

The New York Yankees club is clearly the No. 1 organization in baseball and it has remained a powerhouse for as long as it has because of its ability to sustain itself through in-house player development. The club has done this both by slotting home-grown talent into key roles and by trading prospects for proven veterans.

General manager Brian Cashman does not get the credit that he deserves, partially because he has been overshadowed by the Steinbrenners, and in part due to the fact that he has a large budget to work with. Make no mistake about it, though, he rarely makes a bad move.

Damon Oppenheimer enters his sixth season overseeing the amateur draft. The club has done a respectable job in recent years despite having one of the last selections in the first round. The club picked up some interesting talent in ’09, including outfielder Slade Heathcott, catcher J.R. Murphy, and pitcher Bryan Mitchell. The club’s ’08 effort was a little ugly when the club failed to sign top pick Gerrit Cole and second rounder Scott Bittle. It found some later-round diamonds-in-the-rough to help compensate (Brett Marshall, D.J. Mitchell).

The team also spends a lot of money on the international market. Recent signings include Gary Sanchez, Gian Carlos Arias, Ramon Flores, Jackson Valera, Yeicok Calderon, and Anderson Felix.

The organizaiton has perhaps the best catching depth in baseball, with the likes of Jesus Montero, Austin Romine, Gary Sanchez, and J.R. Murphy. A lot has been made about a possible move from behind the plate for Montero, but he has the bat (and massive power) to play anywhere, while Romine could develop into a Grade-A catching prospect to help fill the gap left behind.

The starting pitching depth in the system is down a bit but the club has spent a lot of money in the free agent market so that’s not a great concern, either. The club does have some talented arms that can help out in the bullpen, including David Robertson, Mark Melancon, and good ol’ Joba Chamberlain. Phil Hughes is a rare youngster that has been able to crack the veteran-laden starting rotation after cutting his teeth in the bullpen in ’09. And don’t forget that he’s still just 23 years old.

The starting lineup does not feature many young players, but left-fielder Brett Gardner is expected to play regularly for the club. He should much-needed speed on the base paths. New center-fielder Curtis Granderson was acquired this past off-season for young players Austin Jackson, Phil Coke, and Ian Kennedy. All three players have potential but they had greater value to the organization as trading chips. And Granderson could absolutely explode playing in Yankee stadium and with the lineup protection around him.

The main core of the Yankees big league club is getting older, but the team’s ability to compete is not going to disappear any time soon. It has the resources and know-how to ensure that the organization remains a powerhouse for years to come.