Marc Hulet Ranks His Top 15 Yankee Prospects

Marc Hulet has been plowing through his yearly organizational top 15 prospects post series over at FanGraphs, and somehow I missed him unveiling his top 15 for the Yankee system on Wednesday.  You can check out the list, with detailed scouting reports from Hulet on each player, right here.

It was the usual suspects in Hulet's top 5: Williams, Sanchez, Heathcott, Austin, Campos in that order.  Hulet is also high on Angelo Gumbs and Brett Marshall (6th and 7th respectively), had ManBan outside his top 10 (11th), and didn't have Rafael DePaula ranked in his top 15 at all.  Personally, I like that he had Austin Romine ranked as high as he did at 13.  Romine has missed a lot of time, but still has plus defensive skills and a great opportunity in front of him this season.  And a ceiling as a catcher hitting .270 with double digit HR in the Majors is nothing to be taken for granted, especially with what the Yanks are looking at this year from their other catchers.

P.S.- If you haven't already, now would be a great time to check out the 2012-2013 AB4AR Top 30.

Mariano Rivera To Retire After The 2013 Season

As expected, Mariano Rivera announced at this morning's press conference in Tampa that he will retire after this season.  And as we've come to expect, Mo handled it in the honest, thankful, and humble way that only he can.  In a testament just to what type of player, teammate, and person he's been in his 19 years as a Yankee, the entire Yankee team attended the press conference along with all the high-ups in the Yankee front office.  One thing that never gets old is how Mo comes across when talking to the media.  It's not a stretch to say he's the most professional professional athlete of all time.  Here are a few examples from things he said during the press conference:

"I would love to say that it has been a privilege and an honor to wear the pinstripes."

"I have to give everything and the tank is almost empty. The little gas that I have left is everything for this year. After this year I am empty."

"I'm a team player, if it wasn't for my teammates I wouldn't have had the opportunity. I want to be remembered for being a good teammates and helping others. That's the legacy I want to leave."

On playing with Pettitte and Jeter: "Again, I always mention the word 'blessed' because it's a blessing more to be able to play with men like Andy and Derek and many others."

So now we know, from the mouth of the man himself.  2013 will be Mo's final season and there will be many more times throughout the season that we'll get to revisit that fact and look back on all the great moments he's had in his career.

The Effects Of Phil Hughes Missing The Start Of The Season

(Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

It's gotten overshadowed by the Mark Teixeira injury and yesterday's report of Mo's retirement announcement, but there's still a pretty important injury situation happening with Phil Hughes.  Last weekend Hughes ended his week-long battle with shrinkage in the pool and got back on the field to start throwing again after almost two weeks off to recover from the bulging disk in his back.  He's been on a flat ground throwing program this week, and yesterday actually threw pitches from a full windup on flat ground, but that still puts him a while away from pitching in a game.  The possibility of Hughes not being ready for the start of the season was mentioned almost as soon as the bulging disk was, and if he isn't back on the mound pitching in a game by this time next week he more than likely won't be ready.  It's not the biggest deal in the world, as long as his back is healthy, but there are a few things that will change as a result.