S.I.'s Top 10 minor leaguers

[Yanksagain]

S.I. came out with their list of top 10 minor leaguers at each position.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/bas...prospects_rhp/

A few Yankees that made the list:

SECOND BASEMAN:

7. Robinson Cano, Yankees
Playing in a full-season league at just 19 years old, Cano slugged 14 homers and knocked in 66 runs to emerge as a Class A South Atlantic League All-Star. He batted .320 with 14 RBI in his first 11 games and didn't wear down as the season did, hitting .367 in his final 11 games with Greensboro before spending three weeks in the short-season Class A New York-Penn League to help Staten Island on its championship drive. The left-handed-hitting Cano, who ranked second in the South Atlantic League with nine triples, has great power potential and can run despite a lack of stolen base attempts. Very athletic, Cano has all the tools to play both second base and shortstop.

8. Andy Phillips, Yankees
Below the Yankees' radar screen entering the 2002 season, the 25-year-old Phillips busted out over the minor leagues' two top levels. The right-handed hitter led all minor league second basemen with 28 home runs and batted .287 with 87 RBI between Double-A and Triple-A. Entering last season, Phillips had only 37 career homers in 1,210 professional at-bats. The Alabama product is a career .292 hitter who routinely makes solid contact, but tends to lack patience, evidenced by only 175 walks in 1,904 plate appearances. Lacking a strong arm, Phillips was moved to second base in 2001 and has blossomed. With Soriano manning the position in the big leagues, Phillips' future with the Yankees is unclear.

OUTFIELDERS:

6. Juan Rivera, Yankees
Even with the Yankees signing Japanese slugger Hideki Matsui, there is a chance Rivera could find himself in the Yankees' outfield on Opening Day. The right-handed hitting Rivera can be a deadly fastball hitter and has the ability to cover the outer half of the plate. Signed by the Yankees in 1996, the down side for Rivera is that he can become impatient and needs to learn to stay away from the pitches off the plate. Despite missing time last season with a broken right kneecap, Rivera collected 86 hits at the Triple-A level and posted a .502 slugging percentage in 65 games. Defensively, the 24-year-old has above average arm strength and makes good reads on balls off the bat as a corner outfielder.


Others worth watching: Julio De Paula, Borrell, Graman, Parrish and Henson.

[Yankyfan]

I have seen Cano play and IMO he'll be a good one to watch out for.Like the post stated though he's fast but doesn't seem to steal bases.Maybe he's saving it?

[Buzah!]

Originally posted by Yankyfan
I have seen Cano play and IMO he'll be a good one to watch out for.Like the post stated though he's fast but doesn't seem to steal bases.Maybe he's saving it?

Maybe he realizes stolen bases are overrated Or maybe, like Bernie, he doesn't get a good jump.

[Donnybaseball72]

Anyone noticed that Henson didn't even make the top 10 list for thirdbasemen. Wow has he fallen off the radar or what? Sometime this year we'll know for sure if the Yankees made a foolish mistake by giving him all that money.

[Yankyfan]

Yea this year is make or break for Drew.I hope he can put it together.Even if he shows some promise he can be good.3rd basemen seem to be hard as hell to come by these days.I mean look at how every one treated Bill Meuhler this year .He's maybe a back up 3 years ago but as I said there hard to come by know.

[Coney36]

Maybe it's time the Yanks see that they shouldnt have placed him directly into Triple A and should have let him come up through the system instead.

[Buzah!]

Originally posted by Coney36
Maybe it's time the Yanks see that they shouldnt have placed him directly into Triple A and should have let him come up through the system instead.

They didn't get back the player they sent to Cincy... The season and a half away from the system, messed him up and they needed to get him back together before putting him in AAA...