The Yankees sent right-hander Zach McAllister to the Indians on Friday, as the player to be named later, completing the July 30 trade for outfielder Austin Kearns.Despite McAllister's tremendous success from 2006 through 2009, I cannot say that I'm too upset to see him depart. While I'm confident that his poor 2010 isn't indicative of his true talent level, I'm equally confident that his ceiling wasn't much higher than that of a fourth or fifth starter. In terms of Major League ready arms, I would argue that Ivan Nova is ahead of McAllister at this juncture - his stuff and Triple-A track record is superior, and the Yankees have acknowledged that this season. In terms of depth, the Yankees boast an enviable array of high-ceiling and nearly ready arms - I would argue that no more than four or five organizations surpass the Yankees, here. And in terms of ceiling, McAllister was, at the very least, behind Nova, David Phelps, Adam Warren, Graham Stoneburner, Andrew Brackman, Dellin Betances, Manny Banuelos, and Jose Ramirez.
The 22-year-old McAllister was regarded as one of the Yankees' top pitching prospects coming into this campaign, earning selection last season as the club's Minor League Pitcher of the Year with Double-A Trenton and ranked as New York's fifth-best prospect by Baseball America.
McAllister had spent all of this year at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, going 8-10 with a 5.09 ERA in 24 starts, ranking 11th in the International League in innings pitched (132 2/3). He was a third-round selection in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft.
I wish McAllister the best with the Indians, an organization which is quite likely to give him a chance to reach his potential.
