SI Yankee All-Stars

I was going to write a post about Clemens and Torre being suspended, but I realized that there's nothing really interesting to say. Torre will likely take tomorrow off, and Clemens will appeal his suspension and either get it reduced or serve it at a point in the schedule where the team can just skip his turn in the rotation.

Instead, I thought I might shift a bit of the spotlight closer to home, specifically Dutchess Stadium, home of the 2007 New York-Penn League All-Star game. The Yankees will be represented by two players from the Staten Island team; Justin Snyder (or, as the official Minor League Baseball site likes to call him, Justin, Snyder) and Zach McAllister.

Snyder was drafted out of the University of San Diego in the 21st round of this year's draft, a very low pick for someone Baseball America ranked as one of the top 200 prospects in the draft. I haven't heard a reason for why he fell so far, and he certainly hasn't played like a 664th pick. In fact, he's probably the NYPL MVP, hitting .385/.488/.569 (that's AVG/OBP/SLG). Those first two numbers lead the league, and the third only trails Mahoning Valley's Todd Martin. All the more impressive is that he's maintained this performance while bouncing around from second to short to third to center field, as the Yankees seem intent on turning him into a sort of super utility player. Obviously you can't get too excited about a partial season in the low minors, but Snyder's the kind of smart, scrappy player that can be very useful to a team. Think Chuck Knoblauch before he started throwing balls into the stands.

Zach McAllister, the Yankees' third round pick in the '06 draft, is a righthanded pitcher with a low 90s fastball, a good slider and a developing changeup. Now, it may seem that the Yankee farm system is filled with guys who fill that description, but thats only because it is. Damon Oppenheimer, the man in charge of the Yankees' scouting, seems to be a firm believer in the idea that it takes three pitching prospects to make one major leaguer. What makes McAllister stand out is his youth (he's only 19), and the fact that he shows remarkable command of his breaking ball and good feel for the changeup for someone so young.

Anyway, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to make it to the game, but if you do, keep an eye on these guys and let me know what you think.