Two big prospect lists came out in the last 24 hours, one from MLB.com’s Jon Mayo and the other from ESPN’s Keith Law.

Mayo’s which dropped last night on an underwhelming MLB Network show, just has a top 50 list and it was a little surprising to Yankee fans. Jesus Montero was at #19, which is by far the lowest anyone has ranked him thus far. As Yankee fans voiced their indignation on twitter, Mayo responded to his critics:

Obviously, I'm a Yankee hater. Either that, or the scouts I talk to think he's a DH waiting to happen. You decide.

Well okay then. The problem with Mayo’s list is that he just polls 20 or so scouts and compiles the rankings that way. I guess its certainly one way to go, but sometimes you get weird results. Case in point. Mayo’s own scouting report had this to say about Montero:

It would be difficult to find someone with anything critical to say about Montero's bat. He's going to hit for plenty of average and he's got perhaps as much raw power as anyone in the Minors; he's just starting to tap into it. He's got great pitch recognition and bat control. The question with Montero has always been about his defense. He's big for a catcher and isn't all that agile. That being said, he's worked very hard on his craft behind the plate and showed improvement, particularly in throwing out runners, over the course of last season.

Again, nothing is said there that stands apart from any other scouting report we’ve heard all year long. However he’s ranked about at least 9 spots lower than any other list. So obviously the whole “he’s a DH waiting to happen” excuse does not hold much water upon further evaluation. But Mayo’s list is really second billing compared to Keith Laws which dropped earlier today.

Keith Law came out with his coveted top 100 prospect list for ESPN, and as it is Insider protected, I’ll just try to summarize his main points. Two Yankees made the list, along with some former friends.

Jesus Montero-10

Montero has made improvements defensively but many evaluators outside of the organization still do not think he’ll be a catcher long term. Montero’s bat will play anywhere though, as his style is comparable with Frank Thomas. He hits off his front leg, but his strength and quick hands give him the ability to drive the ball anywhere without losing power. The Yankees might be wise to try him as a DH sooner rather than later.

Manny Banuelos-96

Banuelos is interchangeable with Zach McAllister but got the nod based on his youth and potential to add more velocity to his fastball. The fastball which sits low 90s and the change up are solid-average pitches with the curveball being his weakest offering. It has little depth to it, but Banuelos has good arm speed which should lead to an improved offering or a solid slider/cutter. His youth and advanced feel for pitching gives him a good chance to reach his ceiling of a 3-5 starter.

Law’s evaluation and ranking philosophy was the subject of a terrific article on Beyond the Boxscore this morning. He’s definitely more willing to trust his own scouting reports along with tools and upside ahead of just performance in ranking players. It’s pretty evident once you see his top 10 Yankees ranking-

1. Jesus Montero, C

2. Manny Banuelos, LHP

3. Zach McAllister, RHP

4. Austin Romine, C

5. Slade Heathcott, CF

6. Jose Ramirez, RHP

7. Gary Sanchez, C

8. Andrew Brackman, RHP

9. David Adams, 2B

10. JR Murphy, C

Brackman at #8 is pretty surprising although its within keeping of Law’s preference to trust scouting reports over results to a certain degree. The biggest eye opener is Jose Ramirez at #6, who we have made no secret of liking here at Pending Pinstripes. The concentration of catching depth is also glaring as JR Murphy just makes it at #10, a ranking which I particularly like.

I think Law’s ranking is within the assessment of the overall system right now. The organization is lacking top tier talent after loosing Arodys Vizcaino (#43) and Austin Jackson (#70). However there are a lot of intriguing players in the lower levels who are a breakout season away from landing squarely on the national recognition level. It’s another reason to closely follow Yankee prospects in 2010.

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Finally, a troubling note about that Brandon Laird dustup in Arizona a few weeks ago comes from the Arizona Republic. Apparently the fight started in the Phoenix Sun’s lounge when Gerald Laird's 70-year-old grandfather “inappropriately” touched Celtic’s guards Eddie House’s wife. At this point, Brandon got involved and then, “shouted derogatory remarks toward House and other women at the lounge before taking a swing at one of the women.”

Well that's troubling. The whole incident is beyond bizarre, with the Laird’s father, grandfather and uncle all in the mix. They were also apparently almost denied entrance because they all seemed extremely drunk before entering the arena.

The legal repercussions seem light, as Brandon is just charged with suspicion of a misdemeanor and disorderly conduct. But the whole thing is thoroughly weird as well as alarming.

Joel Sherman broke the news that the Yankees have agreed to a one year deal with outfielder Randy Winn. It is a bit of a surprising move considering the Yankees outfield needs. Winn is a switch hitter who has shown no discernible platoon split over the course of his career.

It was widely believed that the Yankees were looking to add an outfielder who performs especially well against left handed pitching because of the woes of Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner against southpaws.

There's no way around this: Randy Winn put together a very poor offensive season in 2009, hitting .262/.317/.353. Given the fact that Winn will be 35 at the start of 2010, that is a bit troubling. However, it's important to note that Winn's offense was very strong in both 2007 and 2008. This makes it fair to assume a bit of a rebound. How much is up for debate, though. CHONE doesn't think he'll improve and predicts that Winn will put up a well below average .259/.317/.364 line in 2010.

While there are certainly questions surrounding Winn's bat, there is no debate regarding his defense. He has played more games in center field than any other position throughout his career and has always been regarded as a good fielder. Playing the corner outfield, Winn has been superb. His UZRs since 2005 have been 5.3, 0.9, 17.0, and 13.8 respectively. Weighing Jeff Zimmerman's UZR projections for right and left field, I project Winn to post a UZR/150 of around 10 runs above average in 2010 on the corners.

Winn doesn't stand out, but he figures to be slightly below league average, which is what you'd expect from a fourth outfielder. He doesn't offer the strong platoon splits of an Eric Byrnes or Reed Johnson, but adds decent depth to the Yankees' bench.

Another thing this means for the Yankees is that their saga with Johnny Damon has come to an end(about time). After hearing rumors and pleas regarding Johnny Damon on an almost daily basis, it appears to be quite definitive that he will not be returning to the Yankees.

The options are dwindling for Damon, and it remains to be seen where he'll end up, and for how much money. Depending on the price, he could be a very good addition for a team. He'll almost assuredly be signed for less than his market value, meaning that he could be easily moved at the trade deadline. If the team that signs him stays in contention, he could be a Type A free agent at the end of the season and net his team two draft picks.

It appears that the Yankees budget is real, and that they are sticking to it. This Yankees team appears to be set for 2010, and all we can do at this point is wait until pitchers and catchers report.

Brandon Laird was drafted in the 27^th round of the 2007 draft out of Cypress College. As you can see, Laird has been going in reverse in some respects for the past 3 seasons. His biggest and best attribute is his ability to hit for power. His fielding is not an attractive part of his game however his total zone ratings have consistently marked him as average at 1^st and 3^rd base through his career. Laird has a trademark for getting off to bad starts as it has consistently plagued him. He’s admitted to putting undue pressure on himself to produce, especially early in the year since he’s familiar with his struggles. He also had a fairly good trip to the AFL this year, leading to this note from ESPN’s draft guru, Jason Grey:

One position player I hadn't mentioned, but should, is another Yankee, corner infielder Brandon Laird, who has had a big AFL campaign and shows good power potential. He didn't light up the Florida State League this season, but at least set himself up as someone to watch, as we see how well he can pass the Double-A test next year.

And that's exactly how you should feel about Laird entering 2010. The power is a real feature with him but unfortunately, there’s a lot of other stuff missing. The defensive improvements are nice to read about along with the requisite slimming down, but Laird is unlikely to develop into someone who can play 3^rd base every day. Additionally, you’d like to see him take some more walks and develop his plate discipline. His advancement will be almost completely dependent on his hitting ability- Trenton should prove a daunting task.

Deangelo Mack:

Deangelo Mack was the Yankees 13^th round choice in the 2009 draft from the University of South Carolina. Mack’s a bit of an undersized corner outfielder and his status as a prospect is hurt by the lack of ceiling he has while entrenched there. The problem lies in his speed. Mack is simply not fast enough right now to play CF. If he were able to develop an ability to play CF however, his stock would improve quite a bit. Mack has surprising power and was actually 6^th in the New York Penn league in wOBA in 2009 (second on the Yankees behind Neil Medchill). He’s got mostly gap power and can hit to all fields very well. Mack knows where he stands however and has vowed to improve his speed this offseason, citing it as his biggest flaw as an outfielder right now. Any shot he has to really jump onto the map would be predicated on his ability to play all 3 outfield positions. I would expect to see Mack start 2010 in Charleston with a trip to Tampa should everything go well enough.

Kevin Mahoney:

Kevin Mahoney was the Yankees 23^rd round pick in the 2009 draft from Canisius College in New York. The native New Yorker struggled in his debut in the GCL with K’s. The 36% is really eye popping but Mahoney’s previous track record indicates it may be a little bit flukey. His college career had a nice balance of BB/K (almost completely even throughout it in fact) and he’s got average power as well. But Mahoney’s biggest skill and the reason he’s drawn the most attention is because of his defense. He’s an extremely polished defender, one that doesn’t have any weaknesses at third base. He does have enough potential power to stay at 3^rd base however the Yankees are discussing moving him to 2^nd to maximize his potential. They believe he’s more than capable of making the switch defensively. He’ll likely start in Charleston where the Yankees will try him out at 2^nd base along with 3^rd. If Mahoney can improve his contact skills as well as tap into some of that power potential, along with his terrific make up, he could be a very interesting prospect to watch.

Adam Warren was selected by the Yankees in the fourth round of the 2009 draft. While
many Yankees' draftees tend to hold out for extra money, Warren signed very quickly for $195,000 and it worked out just fine for him.

The Yankees drafted Warren out of the storied University of North Carolina, where he was a starting pitcher for his last three college seasons. He put together a nice 22-2 record there and ran up a ton of accolades.

It wasn't just Warren's pitching prowess that drew attention, it was the whole package. He was named to the All-ACC Academic Team and the ACC Academic honor roll. He was also named an outstanding student and placed on an All-District Academic team by ESPN The Magazine multiple times. UNC is a very competitive school, so color me impressed here.

In Warren's senior season, he was nominated for the Lowe's senior class award, which is a real honor. This award is based on how the student performs in the classroom, the community, how he competes, and his character. He didn't win, but being considered is a pretty big deal itself for a senior college athlete.

Okay, now back to Adam Warren the baseball player. He really seemed to break out in his senior year, posting the lowest walk rate of his college career and striking out over a batter per inning. He took that a step further as he got to Staten Island.

Those are some impressive numbers right there. After never having posted a BB/9 below 3.6 in college, Warren cut that number down significantly to 1.6 as a professional. I got to ask him some questions earlier this offseason, and he addressed this change:

"It was definitely a change in approach. Last year, I would describe myself as tentative and therefore it led to a lot more walks because I was trying to be so fine with my pitches. I came into this year with this mindset that I was going to make hitters beat me instead of giving them free passes. I believe this change in approach really allowed me to get ahead of hitters and use all of my pitches effectively."

It would have been nice to see his strikeout rate remain above one per inning, but it is very tough to argue with a strikeout to walk ratio of 5.00. That wasn't the only positive sign from Warren's time in Staten Island. An astonishing 70 percent of balls in play against Warren were hit on the ground. As a pitcher, the best things you can do are get ground balls, strike guys out, and not walk anyone. Warren did as well as anyone could in that respect.

This isn't just a random fluke. Warren goes out there intending to get ground balls, and he has thus far been successful.

"I would have to attribute my ground ball rate mainly to my two seamer and changeup. I worked hard to throw my two seamer to both sides of the plate, especially when I was behind in the count. My pitching coach this summer, Pat Daneker, really helped me to solidify my mechanics which helped to get more movement on that pitch. I have always tried and for the most part been successful at being a low ball pitcher and I think that may have played a role in getting a lot of ground balls."

The most intriguing thing about Warren is how much his velocity has increased over the past year. In his junior season, he mostly sat 89-91. As a right handed pitcher, that isn't going to get you far in a farm system like the Yankees'. Then, as his senior year progressed, Warren steadily added velocity, crediting good mechanics and an increase in arm strength. Towards the end of the season, he was sitting 93-94 and occasionally touching 96 with good command. A fastball like that can take a pitcher a long way. This increased fastball velocity helped Warren mentally too, allowing him to "gain confidence and not have to be as fine."

There's no doubt that Warren's fastball is his primary weapon, but he has some decent secondary offerings too. His changeup hasn't developed into much of a strikeout pitch yet, but he commands it well and keeps it in the bottom of the strike zone. His curveball is probably his best strikeout pitch at this point, but isn't consistent. Sometimes he gets great break with it, but other times he doesn't. Same deal with his slider.

There are plenty of questions surrounding Warren as we head towards the 2010 season. What will his velocity be like? Will he need half a season to return to the 93-94 level or will he be able to get his fastball up there quickly? Will he be able to develop one of his breaking pitches into a true out pitch with good command?

My expectations from Warren are a bit tempered because of these questions, but there is some real upside here. A starting pitcher with stamina(154.2 IP in '09), plus command of his fastball and plus velocity who gets ground balls is the type of pitcher any team would love to have. I need quite a bit more than 56.2 professional innings to form a complete opinion on a prospect, but I really like what I've seen(and heard) from Warren so far. He should start 2010 in Tampa and the organization consistently talks about how fast Warren could move through the system.

Picture from Danny Wild/MLB.com

The indispensable Frankie Piliere put out his top 100 prospects in baseball for Fanhouse. Make sure you check it out. 4 Yankees make the list as follows:

5- Jesus Montero

41- Manny Banuelos

45- Austin Romine

76- Zach McAllister

That's a fairly accurate rendering of the Yankees top 4 prospects right now. I agree that McAllister is top 100 talent, but outside the top 50 for sure. Here's some former names you may recognize:

25-Austin Jackson

69-Jose Tabata

Arodys Vizcaino, somewhat inexplicably, is not on the list at all. That's very, very surprising.

As for the list overall, I'm fairly surprised that Jason Heyward is as low as 4. I think that's really the standout surprise. I can't really see Desmond Jennings or Mike Stanton being ahead of him right now, but as for the Strasburg/Heyward debate for #1 prospect in baseball, I'm at least a little more receptive to that argument.