One of our goals for 2010 is to increase our in-season minor league commentary. It’s the reason we went out and hired two dedicated minor league writers, Gary Wallace and Admiral Firmus Piett.

To kick things off in the new year, we present to you our Top 10 Yankees’ Prospect List and State of the Farm.

#1. Jesus Montero (C, RHH):
If you aren’t already convinced Montero is a stud regardless of the questions surrounding his defense, then get off the computer and go back under your rock. The average is there (.331), the power is there (.189 isoP) and he’s managed to lower his K% and raise his BB% from ’08. This kid is a star in the making and will be debuting in AAA at ripe age of 20.

#2. Austin Romine (C, RHH):
The son of the former Red Sox outfielder Kevin Romine bested his walk rate and isoP from last year during his season at Tampa, while leading the team in homeruns (13). Constantly overshadowed by Montero’s bat, Austin is the best all-around catching prospect the Yankees have had since the days of Dioner Navarro.

#3. Manuel Banuelos (LHP):
Hailing from Monterrey, Mexico this diminuitive lefty tosses a low 90s fastball, complementing it with a changeup and curve, the former of which flashing plus at times. Already armed with good control (3.79 K:BB), look for Banuelos to work his stuff at Tampa next year.

#4. Zach McAllister (RHP):
For a guy sporting a FIP of 3.01 over the last two years, Z-Mac sure doesn’t garner a lot of attention. While he lacks a plus secondary offering, his sinker has been great (GB% last two years: 50.8) and he has all the makings of a back of the rotation, innings eating workhorse.

#5. Slade Heathcott (CF, LHH):
While any comparison to Grady Sizemore is overshooting the mark, Heathcott does have real 5-tool potential. The “questions” about his character were entirely circumstantial (parents had drug problems, meanwhile he hasn’t lived with them in years) and he is by all accounts a hard-worker with tons of talent. Thanks a bunch, Gerritt…

#6. DJ Mitchell (RHP):
Picked up in the 10th round out of the ’08 draft from Clemson University, DJ sports a nifty sinker/slider combo that has induced an impressive number of groundball outs (62.0%) between Charleston and Tampa. He also managed to keep the ball in the park to the tune of two homeruns in 140.1 innings of work. If he starts the year in Trenton (a notorious pitchers park) we might see another great year out of Mitchell.

#7. JR Murphy (C, RHH):
John Ryan Murphy is a product of Bradenton, Florida and was the Yankees second round pick this past year, a selection they were granted because of the ’08 Scott Bittle non-signing. Murphy recently moved behind the dish, but is athletic and possesses a good arm which should ease the transition. As for his bat, he has a short compact swing and utilizes the whole field. JR will start the season in Extended Spring Training and will likely debut with the Staten Island Yankees.

#8. Mark Melancon (RHP):
In 3 minor league seasons, Mark has posted a 2.54 ERA and a 0.964 WHIP as a reliever. He has been a dominant strikeout pitcher in the minors, with an 8.7 K/9 and 4.31 K:BB ratio. Mark impressed out of the bullpen in his Bronx debut in 2009 and we can look forward to seeing him assume a more prominent role in the Yankee ‘pen next year.

#9. David Adams (2B, RHH):
A talented second baseman from the University of Virginia, Adams production hasn’t disappointed since his debut in the minors. Last year, splitting time between Low and High-A ball he posted a .373 wOBA. His defense has kept up with his bat, as TotalZone pegs him at +13 runs above average total the last two years.

#10. Kevin Russo (2B, RHH):
Kevin is a 2B by trade, but has been seen playing 3B, SS, RF and LF throughout his minor league career. Russo sports a career .304 average in the minors, with a .356 OBP. He had his best season at the plate for Scranton in 2009, finishing among the International League leaders in BA and OBP.

**Note on Gary Sanchez ommission**

Gary Sanchez is a case where we choose not to rank an international signing who has yet to play any baseball in the US. He is by all accounts a very talented young catcher who has loads of potential. His exclusion from this list does not mean he is a worse prospect than any one who made it, but that we cannot in good conscience rank him without any information other than relatively vague scouting reports. We’d simply be going off other where other people placed him on their respective lists.

We haven’t seen him. We haven’t seen his stats. We can’t rank him.

The State of the Yankees Farm System

The one thing the Yankees’ have in their minor leagues is balance. They have a mix of high upside pitchers (Andrew Brackman and Dellin Betances), similarly ceiling-ed position players (Kelvin DeLeon and Austin Romine) some projectable back of the rotation arms (Zach McAllister and Ivan Nova) and some college bats and hurlers that impressed in short season (Adam Warren and Neil Medchill). In particular, they are deep in up the middle prospects…

SS: Eduardo Nunez, Jose Pirela; 2B: David Adams, Reegie Corona, Corban Joseph, Damon Sublett; C: Kyle Higashioka, Jesus Montero, John Murphy, Austin Romine, Gary Sanchez; CF: Kelvin DeLeon, Slade Heathcott

Unfortunately this is offset by the fact that a lot of these players don’t grade out very highly. Most of the upper level players are marginal prospects at best, and a good deal of the ones who do have some potential are years away. That is a uninspiring combination.

The strikingly unremarkable balance of the Yankees’ system makes it middle of the road, albeit with one shining star.

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