Prospects for 2008

John Sickels of minorleaguebaseball.com has completed his annual grading of MLB prospects. Here are his take on the Yankees' top 20.

New York Yankees Top 20 Prospects for 2008

All grades are EXTREMELY PRELIMINARY and subject to change.

1. Joba Chamberlain, RHP, Grade A
   
2. Jose Tabata, OF, Grade B+
   
3. Ian Kennedy, RHP, Grade B+
   
4. Alan Horne, RHP, Grade B
   
5. Austin Jackson, OF, Grade B-
   
6. Bradley Suttle, 3B, Grade B-
   
7. Dellin Betances, RHP, Grade B-
   
8. Austin Romine, C, Grade B- (hate grading guys who haven't played yet, could be C+)
   
9. Jesus Montero, C, Grade C+ (borderline B-)
   
10. Dan McCutchen, RHP, Grade C+
    
11. Brett Gardner, OF, Grade C+
    
12. Damon Sublett, 2B, Grade C+ (love this guy)
    
13. Andrew Brackman, RHP, Grade C+ (could slot anywhere from 9 to 20 depending on what you want to emphasize)
    
14. Jeffrey Marquez, RHP, Grade C+
    
15. George Kontos, RHP, Grade C+
    
16. Kevin Whelan, RHP, Grade C+ (check those K/IP and H/IP, but command?)
    
17. Frank Cervelli, C, Grade C+ (great glove, bat?)
    
18. David Robertson, RHP, Grade C+ (stunning numbers)
    
19. Jairo Heredia, RHP, Grade C+
    
20. Zach McAllister, RHP, Grade C+

Other C+ grades include Jon Albaladejo, Michael Dunn, Juan Miranda, and Justin Snyder. And there are several Grade C guys that I like but want to see more from before giving them higher grades. There are a total of 38 Yankees prospects in the book.

As usual, the C+ guys are pretty much interchangeable and can be moved up or down depending on what you are looking for. Remember to check the post below this one if you want to know more about what the grades mean.