This morning's column by Bill Madden in the NY Daily News brings to the attention of all its readers what readers of Fake Teams already know - the Yankees hitting depth in the minors leagues is abyssmal. In an effort to bring a ray of sunshine, I give you Francisco Cervelli, a 21-year-old catcher in Low A Tampa who has something that will make him the most-hyped hitting prospects in the Yankees' system going into next season.
He has a .430 OBP thanks to a .333 AVG and 18 free passes in 126 ABs. His 2006 rookie league stats were very similar but a tick lower - 136 ABs 309/397/426 with 13 BBs.
Do I like him more than Desmond Jennings, a fellow Low A prospect for the Devil Rays? No, but Cervelli fills a position of need in his organization, and Jennings does not. Because of this Cervelli could more quickly and that will bring him to the attention of minor league publications From there it is an interent connection away from the attention of fantasy baseball players.