I was flipping through the leaderboards on Fangraphs today, and I noticed how similarly AJ Burnett and CJ Wilson have pitched so far this year:

Weird, huh? There are more similarities (these obviously have to do with the similarity in K%):

This is clearly not what the Yankees wanted or expected. AJ is pitching like a converted reliever (CJ was a reliever before this year), and is currently on pace for about a 2 WAR season (about average). If we assume each win above replacement to be worth about 4 million on the free agent market, AJ's performance, were he to continue to pitch like he is now, would be worth about 8 million. That would be about half of what he is being payed.

=

?

When they signed AJ in 2008, I'm sure they were expecting performance a lot more like this:

*photo credit AJ photo: from padresteve.wordpress.com

*photo credit CJ photo: from profantasybaseball.com

Via Robert Pimpsner. If they were 2010 draftees, I put the round they were taken in parentheses.

RHP:

LHP:

Infielders:

Outfielders:

Catchers:

Let me preface this post by saying that I did not know anything about these players before the Yankees drafted them. Since then, I have read a lot about each player, so this is just me sharing the information I've gathered just to give you a look at what type of players Cito Culver and Angelo Gumbs are.

Cito Culver, SS, Irondequoit High School (NY)

With the 32nd overall pick in the 2010 draft, the Yankees selected Christopher 'Cito' Culver. The pick was instantly met with criticism, as he did not rank in either Baseball America's or Keith Law's top 100 draft prospects.

However, the Yankees had seen more of Culver than anyone else, and thought he warranted such a high selection. As Josh pointed out, the history of 32nd picks in the draft is not too impressive. Culver, who hails from outside of Rochester, was the Yankees guy, so they went ahead and took him. After the pick, Damon Oppenheimer said:

We were able to draft a very athletic kid who can play a good shortstop. He has a plus arm, is a solid runner and is an excellent hitter. He’s a player we are happy to have. It was an easy decision for us.

Basically, that's what the Yankees are getting with Culver. A young kid who is extremely athletic and has good baseball tools. All signs point to him being able to stick at shortstop, and the Yankees are clearly enamored with his skill set.

He is unable to sign until he graduates from high school, and it appears that he will sign shortly after he does. I'd expect him to sign for around slot and for him to head straight to the Gulf Coast League. He's instantly a top ten Yankee prospect, but he's a ways away from contributing.

Angelo Gumbs, SS/CF, Torrance (CA) HS

With their top two picks, the Yankees took players who appear to be somewhat similar. Gumbs has played centerfield as well as shortstop, and has excelled there. The Yankees haven't decided where they will play him yet, but he is currently more advanced in the outfield than he is at shortstop.

Personally, I'd love for the Yankees to start him off playing the infield. It seems like it is easier for an athletic player to move from the IF to the OF over the other way around. Playing on the same team as Culver could limit the amount of shortstop playing time available for Gumbs, though.

Gumbs is still just 17 years old, so he has a ton of development time ahead of him. While that means he won't make a big league appearance for a long time, it also means that the Yankees' coaches have plenty of time to work with him and mold him into the player that they want him to be.

The scouting report on Gumbs is impressive. Before the draft, the folks over at Baseball Beginnings wondered whether he was the best athlete in the entire draft, saying:

An athlete. Chance to be true 5-tool player, with grades 50 or better in each tool. Whippy and strong athletic body; could play SS or CF. Should become multi-platform offensive and defensive threat.

The Yanks took some high-upside, lower probability guys with their first two picks. This is the way they should approach the draft, as they don't really have room for marginal or even league-average players. If just one of these two guys pans out over the next five or six years, this draft can be considered a success.

We've been pretty off the game over here, so I wanted to throw up a quick look at some of the draft picks the Yankees made. Greg will post his look at the first two picks sometime soon and we'll try and get back on the ball over here.

Rob Segedin-3B-Tulane

Segedin is the former New Jersey prodigy who holds the state’s all time hit record from Old Tappan. The draft eligible sophomore was somewhat of a sleeper entering the year because although he has an advanced bat, injuries have hampered his progress. He missed most of 2009 with back and shoulder issues but had a nice summer in the Cape Cod league. Segedin makes consistently hard contact, driving plenty of doubles to the gaps but hasn’t found his home run stroke yet. His arm strength at 3^rd is definitely plus, and scouts say his athletic ability should allow him to stay there in the pros. Segedin also was a reliever at one point, hitting 94 reportedly. Segedin will have quite a bit of leverage as a draft eligible sophomore so if he signs, he should get a good chunk of cash.

Mason Williams-OF-FL (HS)

Williams is another athletic CF high school product, the son of the former New England Patriot. Williams has plus speed and great range in CF along with a good swing. Power is the only thing he definitely lacks but if grows into his 6’1” frame at all (currently 155 lbs) he has a chance to improve. He has a short swing and decent pitch recognition with a line drive stroke. Keith Law says he heard Williams wants top 10 money to sign away from South Carolina so that could be a problem.

Thomas Kahnle-RHP- Lynn University

Kahnle was drafted as a starter but will wind up a reliever for the Yankees. He has a live fastball, sitting 92-94 as a starter and in relief touching 98. He has really no secondary pitches at all and command is elusive for him. Some reports have him with an average changeup but no one thinks his curveball passable. He’s one of many potential power relievers the Yankees targeted this year.

Down in Tampa, Adam Warren has been placed on the 7-day disabled list. I am told that he is not injured, and will only be missing one start; the move is to help limit his innings.

It seems that the Yankees will be taking it slow with Warren. In an interview with NoMaas, Mark Newman hinted that the Yankees probably won't be promoting Warren anytime soon, even though he has dominated the Florida State League, saying that, "This is Adam Warren's first full season, so we're not going to go crazy with these guys."

Here are Warren's numbers so far:

11 GS, 6 W, 4 L, 59 IP, 51 H, 1 HR 16 ER, 14 BB, 46 K, 2.44 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 61% GB Rate