The Yanks have started to return to the practice that made them so successful in the ’90s…building from within.  While the Yanks still import stars every year they still have tons of homegrown talent to fill the roster.  Where would the Yankees be this year without Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Alfredo Aceves, Brian Bruney, David Robertson, Phil Coke and Jonathan Albaladejo?  The entire bullpen is home grown power arms!  Could the offense survive without the contributions of Brett Gardner, Melky Cabrera, Robinson Cano and Francisco Cervelli?  Don’t forget about the awesome defense Ramiro Pena provided before he was sent down.a

Of course those are the young  Yanks that everyone knows about.  The good news for Yankees fans is that there is plenty of talent down the pipe.  While the Yankees farm system lacks “5″ star players outside of Austin Jackson and Jesus Montero it’s about as deep a farm system as you’ll see in the MLB.

Here’s some of the players you will be hearing from in the future:

AAA

Mark Melancon: Melancon was up earlier this year and struggled but the 24 year old righty reliever still projects as a set up guy in the future.  He has an ERA of 2.70 and has struck out 42 batters in 36.2 innings.

Ivan Nova: Nova was selected by the Padres in the Rule V draft but returned to the Yankees when he couldn’t crack the big league club.  Nova has very solid stuff but suffers from control issues.  In 12 starts in AA he posted an impressive 2.36 ERA but walked 31 batters and only struck out 47.  The 22 year old Nova just moved up to AAA and is a player to keep an eye on.

AA

Wilkin De La Rosa:  De La Rosa is a favorite prospect of mine.  He’s a converted hitter who found a second life as a pitching prospect.  In 9 starts at AA Trenton De La Rosa has a 4.13 ERA but an impressive 9.6 strikeouts per 9.  If he’s going to make the MLB it’ll be as a relief prospect.

Jeremy Bliech:  Bliech is a lefty who was a first round compensation pick last year.  He just moved up to AA and has struggled with control in two starts but has also struck out 10 batters.  He’s one of the more polished pitchers in the system and could move quickly.

Christan Garcia: Tabbed as having the best curve ball among Yankees prospects by Baseball America.  He has always battled injuries but his pure “stuff” is as good as pitcher the Yankees have.  So far at AA Garcia has been as advertised.  In 5 starts he’s 2-0 with a 0.71 ERA.  He’s only allowed 15 hits in those five starts (25.1 innings) and has struck out 24.  The 23 year old Garcia has battled command issues as he’s walked 17 batters as well.  If he can solve his command issues we might be talking about a player that can be really special.

Zach McAllister: In a lot of ways McAllister is similar to Ian Kennedy.  He’s not a power pitcher but he finds ways to get batters out.  You can’t really argue with the numbers a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts at AA is very impressive.  The 21 year old McAllister has dominated every level of competition he has faced and a move to AAA seems likely in his near future.

Reegie Corona: Corona was a Rule V draft pick by the  Mariners and was returned to Yankees.  Corona is interesting as a “super utility guy” prospect.  He struggled at AAA but found success at AA Trenton hitting .290/.404/.395  It’s that type of plate discipline that you hope can carry over to the major leagues.

A+

Dellin Betances:  Betances is a 6′8  pitcher who throws gas.  He’s a scouts dream as his skill set is very, very rare.  However, he doesn’t really know how to pitch.  He really came on strong last year at Single A Charleston, striking out 135 in 115 innings, but has regressed somewhat this year at High A Tampa.  The strikeout numbers are still good 44 in 44.1 innings but his ERA is 5.48.  He just turned 21 years old so the sky is still the limit, however it’d be nice to see some consistency from Betances.

Austin Romine:  Romine ideally is the replacement for Jorge Posada.  The 20 year old catcher is hitting .287/.319/.489 at High A Tampa. His on base percentage leaves much to be desired as he only has 12 walks in 268 at bats.  The power is there as is the average but his lack of  plate discipline has to worry you.  Defensively he has all the tools needed to be a solid defensive catcher. The 6 steals shows you that has a good amount of athleticism, he just needs to put it all together.
A

Andrew Brackman:  I put Brackman here based on potential only.  He’s a project pitcher, much like Betances, except he really hasn’t shown much.  Recovering from surgery has zapped all of Brackmans command.  He’s walked 52 batters in 72 innings.  At 23 Brackman needs to put things together quickly if he ever plans on cracking the Yankees rotation and living up to his billing.

A (Short Season)

Bradley Suttle: A very interesting prospect.  Entered the 2007 draft ranked as the 34th-best prospect and fifth-best third baseman by Baseball America as well as the top pure hitter in college.  The Yanks drafted Suttle with the last pick of the fourth round.  The MLB recommended slot for the final pick in the 4th round in the 2007 draft was about $150,750. The Yankees signed Suttle for 1.3 million dollars, obviously well above slot.  Suttle debuted at A ball in 2008 and put up an impressive .271/.346/.456 line.  Big things were expected for Suttle in 2009 but he needed labrum surgery on his right shoulder won’t play at all this season.  If he can come back strong the 23 year old is one to keep an eye on.

Arodys Vizcaino:  One scout compared Vizcaino to a “right handed Scott Kazmir.”  He’s very raw but the 18 year old Vizcaino is currently posting some eye-opening numbers.  In four starts (16.1 innings) A-Rod (yea,  I went there)  has a 3.31 ERA and has struck out 24.  That’s a very impressive 15 K’s per 9.  He also has shown incredible command walking only seven batters (3.4/1 K:BB)   In an ideal world A-Rod is a front of the line starter, worst case he’s a late innings power reliever.

Rookie Ball

Kevin De Leon:  Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2007 De Leon is a toolsly 18 year old outfielder.  Jump on the bandwagon while theres still room because De Leon is about to make a lot of noise.  In 9 games so far in the Gulf Coast League (rookie ball) De Leon is hitting .364/.417/.606 .  That’s an 1.023 OPS and to boot he also has three steals.  De Leon is a big time sleeper in the Yanks system.

What the Yanks lack in positional prospects they make up for in power arms.  For  the first time in a while it’s fun to look at the Yankees minor league rosters.