2010 Draft: How'd we do? More importantly, should anyone care?

As I've discussed before on this site, the common perception of the modern-day Yankees is that they're a franchise with an infinite amount of money who can simply buy up the best available players at will year in and year out.  They identify the position they need to fill, locate the best player at that spot on the market, wait for other teams to outbid each other, then just clobber the highest offer at the last second and hope that the smell of cash stacks and the prospect of pinstripe glory will coerce the desired free agent into their camp.  To a large extent, this is an accurate description of the Brian Cashman, et. al.'s approach to team building.  The most recent championship would stand as a testament to that, as C.C., A.J., and Marky Mark were all snatched in approximately such a fashion over the '08-'09 offseason.

So the sensible question concerning the draft and its relevance to the Yankee organization then becomes, 'why bother?'  Who cares if your first round pick is a bust or if none of your prospects make it past A-ball when you can just snatch up a big name whenever a small-money club's contract dries up?  The problem with this attitude is that you get the kinds of teams that you had from '02 through '08, the line-ups that lacked the chemistry, the cohesiveness, the small-ball, pesky-hitting role-players, the sense of pride that was characteristic of the late'-'90s dynasty.  What those squads did boast were plenty of muscled-up, roid-laden, home-run loving, rickety-arm throwing veteran-guns-for-hire.  You need a balance of free agent spot-fillers and born-and-bred farm projects.  Hence the '09 dominance:  Tex, Burnett, Damon, A-Rod, Hinske, Swisher, and Sabathia on one side of the equation and Jeter (6th pick), Cano (amateur free agent signing), Melky (ditto), Pettitte (22nd round!), Hughes (23rd pick), Joba (41st), Posada (24th round), and Gardner (3rd) on the other.

This year, the Yanks had 50 picks, their highest being the 32nd selection, the final pick of the first round.  With that choice, they went with high school shortstop Cito Culver, a kid who I can only assume they are looking to groom into the next Jeter.  He's a 17-year old switch hitter who currently stands at 6'0" and 172lbs.  The available reports claim that he has decent range, a strong arm, and above-average speed.  If he doesn't pan out at short, it sounds like they might try him in center field or keep him around as a utility guy before dumping him (their usual, M.O. with youngsters).  The most troubling thing is the allegation that "scouts have questioned his effort level on the field."  Sounds to me like a kid that has a lot of maturing to do before he'll be ripe for the plucking, in terms of both his physical and mental skills.  The athleticism is there; its a matter of fine-tuning and harnessing.  If all else fails, they'll probably scoop Hanley in a trade of some sort once the Marlin market evaporates (apologies to my boy Jake, but unless they get approval for a new stadium that team is done).

Their next choice was another high school shortstop named Angelo Gumbs, and he too shows great signs of athletic promise, although he has professed that he wants to be a center fielder in the bigs more than an infielder.  Some have even said that his physical prowess exceeds Culver, and with the right training, he might surpass him in the coming years.  With a near identical build at 6 feet, 175lbs., Culver's notable advantages over Gumbs are probably his arm and his switch hitting ability, although Cito has some improving to do from the right side.  Should be interesting to see how these seeds grow.

The first pitchers taken were Thomas Kahnle of Lynn University (pick #175) and high schooler Gabe Encinas (pick #205), both right-handers.  Kahnle, a squatty 6'1" 220-pounder, was awarded the Most Outstanding Pitcher of the Div-II national and Southern region tournaments, and won the MVP for Lynn as a closer for the championship team.  He has hit the gun as a reliever in the mid-90's range, occasionally grazing 98, but as a starter scouts place him more in the area of 92.  The catch?  No #2 pitch.  A curve that doesn't curve and a change-up that with work might become decent.  He could become a Manny Delcarmen type of reliever if he develops the offspeed ball; otherwise he might be doomed for minor league obscurity.  Encinas, on the contrary, is of a lankier make at 6'3" 195lbs., and is thought by most to have a higher developmental ceiling than Kahnle and most other teenage hurlers for that matter.  He features a crafty sinking fastball that clocks in the low-'90s, and while his other pitches (a solid hook and one of the better change-ups among California high-schoolers) need some work, this 18-year old kid is impressing scouts with his knowledge of how to mix pitches and work the strike zone.  In my biased opinion, this is the most exciting pick the Yanks made in this draft, and from what I've read, Gabe has a great deal of major-league caliber potential waiting to be tapped.  Optimistically, I envision him as a Tim Hudson type of starter, maybe a couple of pegs shy of that level.  Here's hoping.

Rounding out the top 10 selections are righthanded third baseman Robert Segedin of Tulane (pick #112), three highschool center fielders (Floridians Mason Williams and Benjamin Gamel at #145 and #325 respectively, and Taylor Anderson from Louisiana at #235), senior first baseman Kyle Roller of East Carolina (pick #265), and Taylor Morton, another highschool northpaw from Tennessee (pick #194).  A lot of young athletic outfielders drafted in the upper rounds indicates to me that the Yanks seem intent on trying to turn at least one of these adolescents into the next Austin Jackson...who they traded.  Sigh, Cashman.  Of the 50 players taken, 28 were pitchers, 8 of them lefties.  Four catchers were selected, the highest being Christopher Austin (pick #415), a 6'2" 200-pound highschooler from Georgia.  Overall, the trend seemed to be to draft young athletic ballplayers in the very early rounds and predominantly experienced college players from there on out.  Pitching was clearly a focus through all stages of the draft even more so than last year, when they nabbed 24 young chuckers.  The difference is that last year 6 of their top 10 picks were pitchers, and 3 of those arms were of a southern orientation.  There seemed to be more of a clear shift from the bump to the outfield, possibly motivated by their current lack of outfield minor talent.  If there is seriously no one better than Marcus Thames and Randy Winn in the farm system, then this point becomes all the more convincing.

Well that raps it up.  For a more rigorous player-by-player analysis, check out bronxbaseballdaily.com.  Apparently that guy is going to try to do a blurb on as many of the 50 picks as he can.  I commend that dedication, sir, but as for me...let's just say I have other obligations.