Maybe I'll start on my serial "Bernie Heads North" posts now...

I was looking up other Yankees prospects when I ran across Baseball America's Yankee prospects page, and found this:

Projected Lineup, 2010:
C:Francisco Cervelli
1B: Eric Duncan
2B: Robinson Cano
3B: Alex Rodriguez
SS: Derek Jeter
LF: Melky Cabrera
CF: Johnny Damon
RF: Jose Tabata
DH: Bob Abreu
No. 1 Starter Philip Hughes
No. 2 Starter Chien-Ming Wang
No. 3 Starter Dellin Betances
No. 4 Starter Joba Chamberlain
No. 5 Starter Ian Kennedy
Closer Mark Melancon

This was of course befor the Sheffield and Johnson trades, so maybe other RHPs sneak in there. I'd prefer to have Damon at 1B and Gardner in CF. And I refuse to believe that Mariano Rivera is ever going to retire.

Sanchez would seem to be ahead for 3 through 5.

3 I know it's my new rant, but I can't believe the guys at BA take the time to put that together and yet rank guys like Chamberlain, Kennedy, and Betances (all three) ahead of Clippard based on nothing more than looks and reputation. Weird.

Betances will be all of 22 in 2010, so if he turns into Hughes Part 2, he might be in the bigs as the 5th starter. I hope he does, but that's a huge if. I think including Betances is very unrealistic on BA's part.

I agree wholeheartedly on Sanchez, Jim, but IIRC, the list was done before the Sheff trade.

Damon's contract is up in 2009; he'll be 36 in 2010. If he comes back, I can't see him playing CF. Melky I could see in CF. Gardner, maybe. But not Damon.

And if Damon and Abreu are still around, why isn't Matsui, who is just a little younger than those two, and every bit as durable?

So many questions . . .

And Abreu at DH when he's already losing power? I understand they're trying to stick with guys in the organization now, but still.

3 Mo's current contract is up after 2007. He's said he wants to pitch the last year in the old Stadium, and the first year in the new one. That means he pitches until 2009. Unless he gets severely hurt, I don't see why Mo couldn't be around for another year in 2010 either.

A world without Mo pitching for the Yanks is something I don't want to think about.

word.

Based on what's accomplished, Clippard should get more love. Based on where all 3 are today, Clippard is the better player. The thing is, when scouts make their prospect profiles it's as much about body type, quality of pitches one by one, and so on. If the sum of all the parts gets a good score, the player gets a better rating. This page gives a good look at the criteria that goes into a scouting report:

http://www.webball.com/cms/page1333.cfm

I'm with Jim in wondering why Clippard doesn't get the love that the others do, but when I consider the criteria, I think I can see why Betances rates as a potential #1 pitcher on any team in the sport. Whatever the rating, if it helps Clippard come in under the radar, the splash he makes just might look bigger. SWB's starting rotation this year is going to be sick.

Hughes, Clippard, Sanchez, Ohlendorf, Rasner or Karstens.....

I believe that rotation is significantly better than the Royals or the Pirates, among others.

IMHO the scouting reports are very important, but only until the player reaches minor league ball. You'll still need scouts (for defense and to round out the numbers) but by that point the numbers (SAL - stats, age, level) should be primary.

Further, what's BaseballAmerica's rush any ways? It's not like they're going to be consistent if the numbers don't hold up (like Duncan getting devalued so heavily). So why not wait for the numbers to come in to get a more accurate assessment?

See, it's not that I have a problem with Betances, Chamberlain, and Kennedy looking good. It's just that they've proven so little and so it makes the projections almost empty - it makes their books a waste of money in my mind.

When they've overvalued prospects based on looks and then the numbers don't come back to match, they look foolish when they have to devalue that prospect. Then they look foolish again when the prospect comes back to their potential (see Cano, Melky, Wang).

Why not skip all that and stick to the SAL numbers?

Tyler has proven he can be very successful given his less than shining appearance. That's the story for this year. And if he dominates AAA there's little doubt he'll suddenly appear at the top of the prospect lists.

But I agree - Scranton has one sick rotation. Though I wouldn't be surprised to see Dorf start in Trenton because they're less familiar with him. Humberto has at least been in the Eastern league for the past two years.

This form does not put much emphasis on COMMAND, so maybe thats why Clippard is not ranked as highly.

I also noticed that FEEL FOR PITCHING: some, good idea, limited, thrower, no idea...
The best ranking is 'SOME'? What about guys that have an AMAZING Feel For Pitching?
Maybe a field called: PITCHING INTELLIGENCE is needed?

I wonder how Greg Maddux types rate based on that form. Maddux does not have great STUFF, but has great COMMAND and INTELLIGENCE. Does Clippard fall into this category?