#9. Chase Wright, LHP
Position: P Full Name: Sebern Chase Wright
Born: February 8, 1983 Wichita Falls,Texas
Height: 6-2 Weight: 190 Bats: L Throws: L
High School: Iowa Park (Iowa Park,TX)

Chase made his Yankee debut last season, getting the call from Double A when Carl Pavano and Mike Mussina were injured. He throws a low 90s 4-seam fastball, a slider, a curveball, and a changeup which is easily his best pitch. He was selected by the Yankees in the third Round (95th overall) of the 2001 amateur entry draft. Unfortunately, he may be remembered more for giving up four consecutive home runs to the Boston Red Sox on national television.

I'm not convinced that Chase will make a major impact on the Yankee staff. I do like the fact that he is a lefty that can produce outs similar to Chien-Ming Wang, but his contributions to the Yankees at this point are as a fill-in for oft-injured Mike Mussina and possibly Andy Pettitte.

Also, the Yankees seem to be flirting with the idea of Sean Henn as their lefty out of the bullpen. If Henn fails in this slot, Wright might get some work here. In fact, as far back as 2005, Wright hinted at moving to the bullpen assuming it would expedite his rise to the major leagues.

The following players have been ranked by the YankeeHeadquarters staff based upon their chances of making a positive impact on the New York Yankees in 2008. Players that participated in a moderate amount of Major League Baseball games last season do not qualify. The most notable of these players is Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, Edwar Ramirez, and Shelly Duncan.

The Top 10 Prospect list will be released during the week of February 24, 2008 via the Yankee Headquarters Blog and will subsequently be posted on our website, YankeeHeadquarters.com.

#10. Eric Duncan, 1B/3B
Position: 3B Full Name: Eric Anthony Duncan
Born: December 7, 1984 Florham Park,New Jersey
Height: 6-1 Weight: 205 Bats: L Throws: R
High School: Seton Hall Prep (West Orange,NJ)

Surprised? Did you forget Eric Duncan was still a member of the New York Yankees? Did the "other" Duncan, Shelly, overshadow Eric so much that he fell off the radar?

YES! YES! YES!

Eric Duncan was a 1st Round Draft Pick (27th overall) of the New York Yankee in 2003. A "can't miss" prospect out of Seton Hall Prep in New Jersey, Duncan seemed destined for Yankee greatness. Unfortunately, this never happened. In fact, Duncan's numbers seem to dwindle each season.

Well, somewhere we still have a soft spot for Eric. Duncan won't turn 24 until December of this year and somehow, someway, Eric is going to make some sort of positive impact on the Yankees this season. He'll start out the season again at AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Text of Andy Pettitte's Opening Statement:

I just wanted to say, well, I'm happy to be back here and again looking forward to giving the Yankees every ounce of energy I have this season. I want to thank the New York Yankees for giving me a few extra days with my family. I think they realize this has taken a toll on my family, and other than my relationship with God, my family is the No. 1 priority in my life.

I want to apologize to the New York Yankees and to the Houston Astros organizations and to their fans and to all my teammates and to all of baseball fans for the embarrassment I have caused them. I also want to tell anyone that is an Andy Pettitte fan I am sorry, especially any kids that might look up to me. Since graduating from high school, I have spent my life working with young kids at my church and in my community. I never want a young person to do what I did.

Anyone that has followed my career knows that I have battled elbow problems the entire time. Again, like I said before, I never took this to get an edge on anyone. I did this to try to get off the DL and to do my job. And again, for that, I am sorry for the mistakes I've made.

Remainder of Andy Pettitte's Opening Statement (yankees.com)

More on Andy Pettitte's Press Conference (yankees.com)

With all the talk the "Big Three", Chamberlain, Hughes, and Kennedy vying for spots on the 2008 Yankee rotation, we may have forgotten about another big contract, big name possibility. And this pitcher is on the Yankee roster! No, not Mike Mussina. No, not Andy Pettitte. No, certainly not Kei Igawa.

How can you not remember the "American Idle"? Who? You know...Carl Pavano. Yeah, he really is on the Yankee 40-man roster although he will begin the season on the 60-day DL list (go figure). He is in Yankee camp and throwing. This is also his last year of that $40 million year debacle contract.

Here is a link to the story from the NY Post:

When it comes to Carl Pavano's potential impact with the Yankees, team VP Billy Connors notes both the pitcher's talent and previous excellence.

"This guy, he was a hell of a pitcher with Miami. And he's got ability," Connors told The Post yesterday after "The American Idle" showed up at the Yankees' minor-league complex in Tampa as he rehabs from June 5 rotator-cuff surgery.

Read more here...

From Yankees.Com:

NEW YORK -- The Yankees are betting big on Robinson Cano to continue his ascent as one of the game's better young talents, finalizing a new contract Thursday that could be worth as much as $57 million through 2013.

Achieving his desire for long-term financial security in New York, the 25-year-old Cano has agreed to a four-year deal that will pay him $28 million through 2011.

The contract also contains lucrative team options for 2012 and '13, years that could be worth $14 million and $15 million, respectively. Both option years contain $2 million buyouts on Cano, who would be 31 at the close of the sixth contract season.

Though not foreign to many clubs, the action of locking up a younger player to a multi-year contract signifies something of a change from the way the Yankees normally handle these situations. While eligible for arbitration this offseason, Cano would not have reached free agency for another four years.

A career .314 hitter in 414 big league games, Cano made his Major League debut with New York in 2005. The arbitration figures exchanged between Cano and the Yankees showed a sizable gap, with Cano requesting $4.55 million and the club offering $3.2 million. He earned $490,800 last year.

Cano had spoken optimistically about hoping to remain with the Yankees on a more permanent basis. He batted .306 with a career-high 19 home runs and 97 RBIs in 160 games for the Yankees in '07, overcoming a slow start as he attempted to follow up on a '06 campaign that saw him bat .342, good for third in the American League.

After opening last season with three home runs and 33 RBIs in his first 79 games, Cano went on a second-half surge, slugging 16 home runs and 64 RBIs over the last 81 games.

In August, Cano recalled the genesis of that offensive awakening. During the Yankees' June trip to Chicago, Cano said he took aside another young Yankees regular, outfielder Melky Cabrera, and told his friend if the languishing Yanks were to avoid a baseball-free October, both Cabrera and Cano would have to step up their production.

"I told [Cabrera] one day when we were struggling, 'We need to get on base. If you want to win, we have to get on base,'" Cano said. "'If those other guys don't find anybody on base, that's a different game. When you've got men on base, you do your job, no matter what.'"

The Yankees posted a Major League-best 51-25 record in the second half, winning 94 games and the AL Wild Card. Cano was one of New York's more productive players in the four-game AL Division Series against Cleveland, hitting .333 (5-for-15) with two home runs, three RBIs and three runs scored.

With Cano's long-term deal, the Yankees' infield could remain constant at least through 2010, with third baseman Alex Rodriguez inking a 10-year deal in December to join shortstop Derek Jeter on the left side.

In December, the Yankees instructed Cano to pull out of action with his Dominican Winter League club, the Orientales Estrellas, after playing 10 games, including one playoff contest, after he had been cleared for only six due to a previous injury.

Cano said he had suffered an abdominal strain in September, which he was testing in winter ball, but he reported no mobility problems heading into Spring Training.