Hey Gary, we all know this season was an excellent one for Yankee prospects. But, were there any kids who didn't meet expectations?

Jeremy Bleich is one of the bigger letdowns. Shoulder injury = not good. Kelvin DeLeon was also a guy who could've been Top 10 in the system if he lived up to his prodigious talent. Unfortunately, he's a hacker with bad pitch recognition. Zach McAllister (pre-trade, of course) was a huge disappointment. Romine's second half was brutal, but he picked it up towards the end of the season.

Hey Gary, you sexy beast, where do you think the minor league publications will rank the Yankees' system heading into 2011?

Yanks should be Top 10. Jesus Montero is really the only real elite prospect they have at the moment. Brackman, Banuelos and Betances (and Gary Sanchez in a year or so) could all get there, but they have big questions surrounding them. Brackman needs to keep improving like he did this past season, Banuelos needs his velocity to keep up and regain his control from '09, and Betances just needs to stay healthy. All those guys should be BA Top 100. Stoneburner has an outside shot.

Hey Gary, you filthy swine, did any farm system have a more positive year than the Yankees?

The Royals farm had a great year. Mike Moustakas (huge power 3B), Wil Myers (good hitting catcher, might not stick), Mike Montgomery (LHP, beastly) lead their group. I don't keep up with other farm systems save for the real notable guys, but by all accounts, the Royals should be #1 this year, thanks in no small part to those three.

Gary Wallace on Twitter: @gw_nomaas

Game #1 Wednesday 7:05 at Waterfront Park
TRN RHP Dellin Betances (0-0, 3.37) vs. NH RHP Kyle Drabek (14-9, 2.94)

Game #2 Thursday 7:05 at Waterfront Park
TRN LHP Andy Pettitte (0-0,0.00) vs NH LHP Zach Stewart (8-3, 3.63)

Game #3 (if neccessary) 7:05 at New Hampshire
TRN LHP Manny Banuelos (0-1, 3.52) vs. NH RHP Randy Boone (5-10, 3.98)

Game #4 (if neccesary) 7:05 at New Hampshire
TRN RHP Andrew Brackman (5-7, 3.01) vs. NH RHP B.J. LaMura (5-6, 3.73)

With Adam Warren in the wings to back up Andy Pettitte...

So sexy.

Minor League Players of the Week (v21):

Pitcher:
Brett Marshall, 20, RHP, A+
11 IP, 12 K, 0 BB, 10 H, 3 ER

Only a little more than a year after going under the knife for Tommy John surgery, Brett Marshall has done everything you could have asked for and more. The young Texan has shown considerable improvement over his injury-shortened rookie campaign, increasing his strikeouts, while simultaneously lowering his walk rate (2009: 15.3 K%, 9.4 BB% 1.62 K/BB; 2010: 20.5 K%, 7.6 BB%, 2.69 K/BB).

He’s also been utilizing his two-seamer to induce weak contact and it’s been very successful: his groundball rate at Charleston was great (49.6 GB%). Brett’s work this past month was good enough to earn him a cameo at Tampa (4 IP, 6 K, 0 BB, 5 H, 2 ER). The funny thing is, even with how good Marshall has been this season, it’s not unreasonable to think he can come out and perform even better next year. As Brett gets farther away from his surgery, his command should continue to improve and he should be getting the feel for his best pitch back -- the slider.

Coming into the Yankee organization as a teenager, Brett was taught a curveball and wasn’t allowed to throw his slide piece (we had to pay Joe Morgan in order to use this phrase). The start after he sustained the injury that would eventually lead to his TJ, Nardi Contreras informed him he was able to bust out his old weapon. Such is fate. Hopefully, as Brett continues to get reacquainted with his old friend, we see his strikeouts improve. Maybe Mike Pavlick (Tampa pitching coach) works a little of his magic on Brett’s slider in 2011, as he did with Graham Stoneburner’s this past year. In any case, being able to freely use his old best weapon probably isn’t going to hurt the performance of Brett Marshall.

It’s been a fairly long road back to pitching for Brett, but it’s great to see him come out and pitch the way the Yankees knew he could when they drafted him.

Position Player:
Jesus Montero, 20, RHB C, AAA
.323/.323/.645 in 31 PAs

NoMaas Ranking – Pre-Season Top 10: #1, Mid-Season Top 20: #1
Previous Wins - Week(s): 10, 13, 14, 15, 17, 20 – Month(s): July

Since I’m tired of writing about Montero in long form, let’s bulletpoint him to save us all some time…

- Jesus Montero is the best pure hitter in the minor leagues.
- He will probably play some catcher in the MLB.
- He will not, in all likelihood, stick there for much longer than a couple of half seasons or so, and will end up transitioning to a DH/1B role.
- He’s going to hit in the MLB. At the very least, he should be league-average. He could be a lot, lot better than that if he approaches his ceiling. Like MVP-candidate good.

Honorable Mentions:

Dan Brewer, 22, RHB OF, AA
.400/.455/.500 in 33 PAs
Could be useful to someone, but it’s probably not the Yankees.

Sean Black, 22, RHP, A+
8 IP, 12 K, 0 BB, 8 H, 3 ER
”Meh” start. Pick it up, son.

David Phelps, 23, RHP, AAA
13 IP, 9 K, 2 BB, 13 H, 2 ER
Got better with the competition. Serious Yankee Minor League Pitcher of the Year candidate.

Austin Romine, 21, RHB C, AA
.333/.364/.476 in 22 PAs
Hasn’t had a lot to be happy about in three months (.616 OPS since June 1st).

What a mess this rotation is. Hope the Yankees' bats are ready to carry the playoff load.

Pitcher:
CC Sabathia
3.12 ERA/3.71 FIP/3.59 xFIP, 43.1 IP

It's getting a bit old to give this to CC, but he continues to hold the rotation together. He was the only starter for the month to throw more than 35 innings (second was Moseley with 33.1) and his ERA was better than every regular starter by more than a run. Sabathia did surrender 5 HRs, after having not given up the long ball across 10 starts in July and most of June. However, a 3.60 K/BB (7.48 K/9 vs. 2.08 BB/9) and a solid 48.4% groundball rate proved enough to counter the spike in dingers. CC continues to be the most, and at times only, reliable starter in the rotation.

Position Player:
Mark Teixeira
289/.355/.629, 110 PA

Teixeira takes the honors for the second month in a row. While his average and OBP came back to earth during August, his ridiculous power numbers continued to the tune of a .411 wOBA. His 9 HRs contributed to a .340 IsoP. Due to a very hot couple of months, Teixeira's counting stats are starting to get to where they are expected to be. The batting average is still a bit low, but when taking into consideration his power numbers, strikeout rate, and line drive rate, this can easily be attributed to a low BABIP (.274 on the year, .305 career). Any worries from earlier in the season should be long gone by now.

Honorable Mention:

Marcus Thames
.344/.385/.721, 65 PA
Thames actually led the team with a .468 wOBA, hitting 7 HRs in 61 at bats. On the season, Marcus has been very productive off the bench, producing a full win above replacement in a part-time role.