Source: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Citizen's Voice

BY CHAD JENNINGS
STAFF WRITER

With pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training this week, Times-Shamrock begins a series of stories each Monday looking at the candidates for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees inaugural season.

Nine logical candidates for five spots in the rotation. Our look at the Yankees Triple-A candidates begins with the position most difficult to predict.

Given the logjam of nearly major league-ready pitching talent in the Yankees system, the Triple-A rotation might not be decided until the final big league cut of spring training.

Headlining the Triple-A candidates is 20-year-old phenom Philip Hughes, who would be a lock to join the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre roster if not for his rapid assent toward New York. If there isn’t room for him in the Bronx, there’s no way he’s going back to Double-A Trenton, so he’ll be right here at PNC Field.

Beyond Hughes is — among others — a Double-A strikeout leader, two major league starters and three significant trade acquisitions. All strong candidates for a team that won’t have room for all of them.

Tyler Clippard

Pitching for Double-A Trenton last year, Clippard led the Eastern League with 175 strikeouts. It was his second consecutive season leading his league in strikeouts, and all those Double-A Ks came with 12 wins, a 3.35 ERA and the first no-hitter in Trenton franchise history.

At 21 years old, the right-hander is firmly entrenched in Hughes’ shadow, but Baseball America included him in its list of Top 10 Yankees prospects and noted that he profiles as a solid back-of-the-rotation starter in the big leagues.

Matt DeSalvo

A year ago, DeSalvo was nearly the shock of spring training when the unheralded, undrafted right-hander nearly pitched his way onto the big league staff. Instead, he wound up taking a minor league step backwards.

Signed as a undrafted free agent out of Marietta College in Ohio, DeSalvo dominated Class A and Double-A before his impressive 2006 spring training. Sent to Columbus to start last season, DeSalvo struggled and was sent down back to Double-A. This year, the 26-year-old, might be the longshot of this group to make the Triple-A rotation.

Steven Jackson

The least heralded of the three prospects acquired from Arizona in the Randy Johnson trade, 24-year-old Jackson was second in the Double-A Southern League with a 2.65 ERA last year. His record, however, was a less impressive 8-11.

A 10th-round draft pick in 2004, Jackson had been only so-so before last season, and despite such an impressive ERA last year, the group of Yankees Triple-A candidates is so strong that he might have to start this season in Double-A. If he proves last year wasn’t a fluke, though, Jackson could force his way into the Yankees’ Triple-A plans.

Jeff Karstens

This should be a fairly familiar name after Karstens pitched in eight major league games, including six starts, for the Yankees last season. He did pretty well with a 3.80 major league ERA, but there’s full slate of big league candidates heading to spring training and it’s hardly a sure thing that Karstens will return to New York to start the season.

Instead, the 24-year-old might start this year where he started a year ago. Last season, Karstens began the year in Triple-A Columbus and was demoted before putting things together in Double-A Trenton and returning to Triple-A before making his big league debut.

Ross Ohlendorf

Considered the 10th-best prospect in the Diamondback’s star-studded system, Ohlendorf was the top prospect the Yankees received in the Johnson trade. He was a fourth-round draft pick in 2004 and went 10-8 with a 3.29 ERA in Double-A Tennessee last season.

Along with Clippard, Ohlendorf might be the closest thing to a lock to join the Triple-A rotation.

He’s too big of a prospect to take a step back, but likely not yet ready for the big leagues. His power sinker could play well on PNC Field’s new grass field.

Darrell Rasner

Like Karstens, Rasner should be a familiar name to New York fans. He pitched six times for the big Yankees last season, building a 3-1 record and a 4.43 ERA.

Also like Karstens, Rasner is not guaranteed a spot in New York and could be back in Triple-A where he went 4-0 with a 2.76 ERA last year.

A former second-round pick of the Expos, the 25-year-old Rasner wound up being waived by the Nationals prior to last season and picked up by the Yankees. He could bounce back and forth from Triple-A to the major leagues this season.

Humberto Sanchez

The biggest concerns with Sanchez center on his durability and health. He missed significant time due to injuries the past two seasons, but when he’s healthy and pitching it’s hard to question his stuff.

Brought over in the Gary Sheffield trade, Sanchez was named the Yankees No. 3 prospect by Baseball America. He has a mid- to high-90s fastball and finished with a 1.76 ERA in 11 Double-A starts last year. Some reports consider him a fringe major league candidate, but the 23-year-old most likely will begin the season in Triple-A.

Steven White

Once considered among the Yankees’ brightest prospects, White’s stock has dropped the past two seasons. He struggled in Double-A in 2005, then dominated Double-A last year only to be promoted to Triple-A and struggle to a 4.71 ERA in Columbus.

That said, White’s still only 25 and as a former fourth-round pick could have the raw tools to eventually help in the majors. Because of the crowded group of Triple-A candidates, he could be forced back to Double-A this year. If he goes to Triple-A, White will have to prove himself to stay on the prospect map.