I was at mass today and my mind momentarily drifted to baseball. If you keep up with BA, BP or ESPN chats you frequently see the same prospect names coming up again and again. I usually end up fixating on questions regarding either Yankees or red sox prospects.

A somewhat worrying trend appears to be emerging where the sole representative in the Yankees corner is Montero, while the red sox are once again in stockpiling mode with Kelly, Iglesias, Westmoreland and Kalish to name a few. I'm aware of the obvious that all four are in the lower levels of minor league ball and could end up like the vast majority of prospects and not pan out to the extent that current projections suggest. I also don't want to seem overly critical. I recognise what the Yankees have achieved in recent years as they have produced a series of young players through the draft and IFA market, many of whom played a significant role last year and will hopefully contribute in an even greater capacity this year.

Taking the above into account it still isn't the most appealing trend. At the high end of recent drafts the problem can be traced to the Gerrit Cole situation. Early projections place Cole in the top end of the 2011 draft. If he had signed with the Yankees then he is likely considered a better prospect than Kelly. The previous year the Yankees selected Brackman. The sole positive from Brackman's first season was his ability to stay healthy. Beyond that that was very little to be positive about as Brackman posted poor numbers at Charleston. If Brackman didn't have to get TJ then maybe things look a bit brighter for the Yankees.

Essentially there are a few picks that haven't went the Yanks way while the sox have had a bit better luck. Regardless of the source of the disparity it does seem that the Yanks system has fallen behind the sox. With several prospects getting their first full year in pro ball and other returning from injury, this would seem a good time to close the gap as they did a few years back.

P.S. this doesn't mean I think other Yankees prospects (Romine, Bleich, Melancon McAllister, Betances, Heredia, Banuelos et al) are shit, just simply that they aren't considered to be as good as what the sox are currently producing.

I am not as worried about it as I was a couple of years ago. I think the Yankees have some talent in the minors, and have recently developed some decent MLB players. I am still somewhat worried about the people that are developing our prospects but don't have the time to do enough research to have a better plan then the people that are paid good money to do so. (Meaning I don't know who should go/ why they should go/ who should replace them) It is just a concern.

It did bug me that the red sox were more aggressive with signability cases last year. Most notably with David Renfroe and Madison Younginer. Two guys the Yankees were interested in. It would have been especially nice to get someone like Renfroe to be at least a possible replacement to Jeter. Meanwhile the Yankees took aim at a lot of college players who fall into the good but nothing special bracket.

I believe the Yankee Years or possibly another book, the title of which escapes me, details how the Yankees have yet to embrace biometric testing for pitchers and don't seem have the record of injury prevention with prospects that the sox have due to their well publicised shoulder programme.