Chad Jennings talked to Mark Newman about the Yankees prospects that are Rule 5 Draft eligible. Slade Heathcott, Shane Greene and Bryan Mitchell, Tommy Kahnle, Danny Burawa, Chase Whitley, and Gary Sanchez are all eligible and, therefore, must be added to the 40-man roster to be saved from the draft.
The Yankees currently have 39 players on their 40-man roster, and most of them are about to be gone in another month. Travis Hafner, Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano, Brendan Ryan, Mark Reynolds, Lyle Overbay, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes, and Joba Chamberlain will all be gone. Matt Daley and David Huff could also be kicked off the roster. With 13 spots open, the Yankees will obviously have to sign players back up, but that doesn't mean there isn't plenty of space to protect everyone.
The prospects that will certainly be protected are Mitchell, Heathcott, and Sanchez, though everyone has their own merits as well. Mark Newman had good things to say about several of them and others:
Slade Heathcott:
"His second half was good," Newman said. "And by the metrics we use, he improved over the course of the season. He needs at-bats, and he needs some time."
Bryan Mitchell:
"Bryan Mitchell," he said. "He's got a great arm. He's getting better."
Chase Whitley:
"He's got a great changeup, so it was, let's see if he can do this," Newman said. "His velocity picked up over the last two years, he's always had a very good changeup, we're working on his breaking ball. We had some innings in the rotation, and he's got starter stuff, so he may get a look in that way in the future."
Shane Greene:
"Big time (improvement)," Newman said. "Command. Look at his walk totals. ... He's got good stuff. He gets it up to 95, 96 and can sink the ball. Now he's getting it over the plate."
Jose Campos:
"He did well," Newman said. "We shut him down and we're happy. ... We just don't want to jack his innings up too much." Newman said Campos will likely be on a similar but less-restrictive program next year. "He'll have more innings next year, but it will be managed (again)," Newman said. "He's not going to go to 180 innings after what he did this year."
Rob Refnsyder:
"Huge improvement (defensively)," Newman said. "So far it's been good, and he can hit. And he had a bunch of walks."
Unfortunately, he also had some not so great things to say about some other prospects.
Ravel Santana:
"He's had two really tough injuries," Newman said. "He's had a tough go."
Angelo Gumbs:
"He's got some work to do," Newman said. "He's a talented kid, but he's got work to do. He needs to have a good year. ... He can run and he can impact the ball. He's real athletic. Like so many of those (young) guys, it's plate discipline, using the field, being a quality hitter."
Austin Aune:
"He had a rough year," Newman said. "He had a tough year. We'll see how it goes next year. He's a hard-working, good kid and I'll leave it at that."