Sweet and Sauer

Every year for the MLB Draft, one of my favorite traditions is trying to quickly scoop up a card of the Yankees top picks. It's fun to beat the clock before sellers add "Yankees" to the title and jack up the price.

In the second round, 54th overall, the Yankees took Matt Sauer, a HS right-handed pitcher from California.

Sauer was ranked 28th overall by MLB.com, but the Yankees were able to snag him mid-way through the second. From what I've read, he intends to sign and turn pro. The Yanks took Clarke Schmidt in Round 1, a pitcher who just had TJ Surgery, and the thought is that they'll sign him underslot and use the savings to sign Sauer for an above-slot bonus to help sweeten the pot.

I quickly snagged this 2016 Leaf Perfect Game National Showcase jersey/autograph of Sauer. It's a neat card with a cool patch, although "patch" is a loose term since it's more of a t-shirt material with screen-printed letters. I'd assume that this is from the jersey he's wearing on the card's photo.

It's pretty easy to tell that this is part of the "E" and "R" in his last name, which is another reason I liked this particular card.

I'm looking forward to Matt signing and starting his career with the Yankees.

TTM Success: Fu-Lin Kuo (Yankees Prospect)

Yankees prospect Fu-Lin Kuo signed this sweet 2013 Bowman Purple parallel in about one month's time. I sent it to Kuo at Charleston, the Yanks Low-A affiliate. He's currently with Tampa in High A ball, and long-term, is probably an organizational player at best.

TTM Success: Yankees Prospect Rookie Davis

Since the Yankees drafted him in 2011, I've loved the name Rookie Davis. It sounds like he should be in a baseball movie with a name like that. Davis is now pitching well for short-season Staten Island, and doing very well. He signed my card in about two weeks.

He also answered a few questions for me:

How did you get your nickname? From my dad.
What hitter do you dream of facing most? Probably Miguel Cabrera
Favorite pitcher of all time? Roger Clemens
Funniest person in Yanks organization? Connor Kendrick (2013 9th round pick)

Thanks to Rookie for taking the time to answer the questions and sign my card!

Yankees Prospects I'll be watching this year...

In the past few years, the Yankees have seen their farm system greatly improve from the early 2000's. Since 2005, the Yanks have put a great emphasis on the draft and international scouting. It also helps that they are keeping their draft picks (minus this year *cough*Soriano*cough*) and putting a premium on them. They are also gambling later in the draft and taking players who have strong college commitments and using their financial might to lure them to sign. Since they are usually picking at the end of the first round, this is the best way to get potential impact players.

While most eyes will be on Jesus Montero's pending arrival and the Killer B's (Banuelos, Brackman, Betances) development, I'll be closely watching Class A Charleston, as two of my favorite prsopects will be suiting up for them.

First and foremost, Gary Sanchez. The next in line of big-time Yankees catching prospects, he tore it up in his first pro season. If you take a look at the back of his baseball card, he was born in 1992. And he won't be turning 19 until December. He projects to have a similar bat to Montero while being quite a bit better defensively. I don't go out and hoard rookie cards, but I won't lie, I picked up three of his 2010 Bowman Chromes.

Another prospect to watch in Charleston is CF Slade Heathcott. He was the Yankees first round pick in 2009 and is a toolsy outfielder, something that the farm system lacks as a whole. He showed a strong abaility to get on base last year - .359 clip, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him put it all together this year.

Other names to remember: Graham Stoneburner, Hector Noesi, Mason Williams, Melky Mesa