Monday, January 25, 2010

Four Yanks Make Fanhouse Top Prospect List

Frankie Piliere of AOL Fanhouse came out with his list of the top 100 prospects in baseball and four Yankees made the list. Jesus Montero came in at no. 5 on the list, Manuel Banuelos came in at no. 41, Austin Romine was ranked 45th, and Zach McAllister came in at no. 76. Here's what Piliere had to say about them:

Jesus Montero:
Can he catch? Yes. Will he catch? It doesn't matter much. His bat is that potent. Much debate surrounds Montero's ability to stick behind the plate, but the bat is going to be special. He has a potential 40-homer bat with the offensive upside of Miguel Cabrera. We could see the Venezuelan slugger as early as midseason in 2010 if all goes well in Triple-A.
Manuel Banuelos:
Banuelos somehow gets the tag of a command guy with limited stuff. That couldn't be further from the truth. His command and feel for pitching are his trademarks, but with a 90-93 mph fastball and the potential for two plus secondary pitches, this smallish lefty has the upside of a No. 2 starter. He's extremely young, but he could force the Yankees to advance him quickly.
Austin Romine:
Romine has always been "the other guy," with the presence of Jesus Montero overshadowing him in the organization. He does not have the offensive upside of Montero (few players do), but his skills behind the plate and developing power make him nearly as interesting a prospect. He's ready to move as fast as Montero from an offensive standpoint, but he has the potential to be a potent offensive threat and an above-average defender behind the plate.
He did not provide commentary for anyone ranked below 50th.

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