Yankee Prospects

Many of our readers have been interested in the current state of the Yankee farm system. They want to know who we have coming up, who can replace Joba, who will be the next Cano and Melky. All are valuable questions that deserve full attention. Unfortunately, the Respect Jeter's Gangster blog doesn't keep up with such matters. So instead of giving you facts, and in depth scouting reports about the players in our farm system, which you can get anywhere, we're going to give you hearsay and perception based guesses. Where else besides ESPN can you get that? Here is the Respect Jeter's Gangster blog Yankee Prospect ratings:

Key:
Bubba Crosby/Kei Igawa: A player whose too good for tripple A, but not good enough for the majors.
Carl Pavano Factor: Injury risk.
Derek Jeter Factor: Gangsterdom.

All factors are rated on a scale of 1 - 10 with 1 being the lowest.

Position Players

Carmen Angelini - In his quest to become the next Derek Jeter, Angelini has been snagged by what appears to be a lack of Jeterdom. He's yet to date any famous actresses, yet to get hit on the hand by a mid 90's fastball and play the next day, and he's yet to have a strained relationship with a 3 time MVP winner. Despite his lack of Jeterdom, and despite the fact that he has the same first name as my mother, Angelini looks promising. He started off slow but has gone on a 7 game hit streak in which time he has batted .390.

Bubba Crosby Factor: Too early to say. He's very talented, but he's still at Charleston, so we need to give him more time.
Carl Pavano Factor: 2. He seems pretty sturdy for a straight from High School player.
Derek Jeter Factor: 4. Its difficult to have the same profound impact on baseball and the global community that Derek Jeter has had, but this kid is pretty good. We'll have to give him more time to develop.

Jesus Montero - Everyone knows him as the teenaged catching prospect the Yankees signed a few years back, but the kid has grown and he's developing into the potential power threat he's been touted as. Think Mike Piazza only 40 years younger. Although he's just old enough to buy those rap cd's with the parental advisory stickers on them, he's built like a tank. A Sherman if you're wondering. He's batting .308 with 5 homeruns and 34 RBI's, which is a higher RBI total than all the current Yankees combined minus Jeter, Abreu, A-Rod, Matsui, and Giambi.

Bubba Crosby Factor: 2. This kid looks like he can mash, and the fact that he's young and was not overwhelmed by being in big league camp tells me that he can handle New York.
Carl Pavano Factor: 5. He's a big guy, and catching is a difficult position. I think the younger version will be healthy, but those knees are sure to take a beating in his later years. A switch to first base would help this out a lot.
Derek Jeter Factor: 3. If this kid meets his potential he'll definetely have the better power numbers, but as we all know, Jeter doesn't rely on power. He relies on gangster. Montero, so heavily reliant on power may be anemic in his gangster. Thus the low Derek Jeter Factor.

Jose Tabata - After trying to flee from the Yankees not too long ago, Tabata has returned and has started to turn things around. On the 21st he hit his first homerun of the season going 3-6 and knocking in 4 runs. It may have been a grandslam, but I have no way of verifying outside of checking on Mike Ashmore's site, and unfortunately, that's one click too many for me right now.

Bubba Crosby Factor: 6. He has enough talent and still has some growth potential, but if he let's himself get overwhelmed, he may become a Bubba Crosby. Hopefully the coaches are staying in there with him.
Carl Pavano Factor: 6. If he gets too big, his legs will take a beating in the outfield, and he could see more quad, hamstring, calf, and groin pulls than Marty Miller.
Derek Jeter Factor: 2. He tried to run away, and gangster's never run. Even in the midst of personal melt downs. I don't count it against the kid, since he's young, and was frustrated, but I do count it against his Derek Jeter factor.

Austin Jackson - Austin Jackson also had a big game on the 21st where he had 2 hits, a homerun and a triple, and 7 RBI's. It was his third multi hit game in the last 4 that he's played. It seems like both outfield Double A prospects are heating up. I'm very curious to see who makes it up first, but the smart money says Jackson will be with the Yankees before Tabata.

Bubba Crosby Factor: 6. If his power numbers or batting average don't improve he may find himself as a 4th outfielder. Many credit his speed and defense, but we have that in Brett Gardner too. You have to hit to stay in the bigs.
Carl Pavano Factor: 7. Only because he strikes me as a Aaron Rowand/Ken Griffey type of outfielder who will not hesitate to run into walls to make plays, thus increasing his likelihood for injuries. Conversely, his Bobby Abreu Factor is very low.
Derek Jeter Factor: 7. I think his speed and lack of power will quickly give him a Derek Jeter like approach and gangster swagger. That is if he can hit for a higher average.

Pitching Prospects

Zach Kroenke - I've never seen him pitch, or heard anything about him, but his numbers look pretty good. Kroenke (which I hope is pronounced Crunk) has pitched 16.1 innings of relief this season and has a 2.76 ERA and 18 strikeouts to show for it. He's also a lefty, which the Yankees will love.

Kei Igawa Factor: 5. I'd have to see his tripple A numbers to make a fair assesment, and that's not likely to happen since I don't really follow tripple A.
Carl Pavano Factor: 3. He seems like a sturdy individual, and relief will not put as much wear on his arm as the rotation will.
Derek Jeter Factor: 5. Only because his last name can be pronounced crunk.

Scott Patterson - After the Yankees screwed Patterson out of his rightfully earned spot in the bullpen, Patterson struggled to show the magic that made him so effective in spring training. Well, that magic is back, as he hasn't allowed a run in his last 9.1 innings, bringing his ERA down to 2.70, and even recorded a save in that time. He's struck out 19 hitters in 20 innings of relief this season. He should be called up, but the Yankees seem committed to their current strategy of calling for and then denying Chris Britton a chance to pitch.

Kei Igawa Factor: 4. His velocity certainly tells me that big league hitters should be able to hit him, but his numbers in spring training suggest otherwise.
Carl Pavano Factor: 4. His funky delivery tells me that he could injure something, but he's been healthy since coming to the Yankees and he doesn't throw with the high velocity that can danger his arm.
Derek Jeter Factor: 2. If he had more gangster, he would have been on the roster out of spring training. I still hope to see him, but they've skipped him every chance they've had. I suspect there's a conspiracy involved, but that's another post for another day.

Daniel McCutchen - Recently promoted to Scranton after making double A look easy, McCutchen is being considered for the bullpen once Joba goes to being a starter. In double A McCutchen recorded a 2.52 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 50 innings. His 46 to 15 strikeouts to walks ratio paints the picture of a man who throws strikes except for the cases that those 15 batters got walked. Seems obvious right? Wrong. He threw strikes in those cases too, but it didn't work out. Actually, I can't back that up. I should also state that he walked 5 batters in his last outing where he lasted only 4 innings. His worst of the season. Despite that bad outing his numbers still look good, so that should tell you something.

Kei Igawa Factor: 1. This guy looks like he can pitch.
Carl Pavano Factor: 4. As a starter he may need to be careful, but all in all I think he'll be alright.
Derek Jeter Factor: 5. If he dominates out of the bullpen, then we will credit his gangster, if not than there's not much we can do.

Kei Igawa - His 3.76 ERA would be decent if it weren't for the $46 million the Yankees invested in him to preferably have him pitch in the majors. His Kei Igawa factor is fairly high, due in part to him being Kei Igawa. He's left handed, which makes him a precious commodity, just not in the United States. I don't get the whole left handed thing personally. I know lefties are highly regarded, but its not as if you're going to throw a lefty out there, and have big league players not know what to do. What do they expect? Is an MLB player going to step into the batters box and be like "Oh, no, I've never seen a ball released from that side of the plate before. I'm baffled at the angle at which this ball is approaching me. I want to swing, but simply can't pull the trigger I'm so confused. I have no choice but to take strike 3, and sit this ball game out. C'mon guys, let's forfeit. This guys pitching from the wrong side of the plate. There's no way we can win."

Kei Igawa Factor: 10.
Carl Pavano Factor: 1. Its hard to get injured when you only last 4 innings per start.
Derek Jeter Factor: 8. Surprised? Despite how awful he's been he's still the highest paid Scranton player, and managed to get $26 million dollars for his bosses back in Japan. Sounds pretty gangster to me.