TOP 5 YANKEE PROSPECTS OF 2012: AGAIN! #5

It's amazing how things work. Grant Cederquist, one of our writers slaved away to give you a thoughtful, compact series of the Top 5 Yankees Prospects of 2012 for the Yankees and then Jesus Montero gets traded and the Yankees pick up minor leaguer Jose Campos. Well, the poor guy needed to go back to the drawing board, and he did, for you guys! He's a stand up guy. So here we go again, the Top 5 Yankee Prospects of 2012...enjoy this! --Casey

#5. Jose Campos

RHP (5-5, 2.32 ERA, 81.1 IP, 9.4 K/9, 1.4 BB/9, 0.4 HR/9,
0.971 WHIP in 14 starts at Short Season-A Everett)

I was a bit skeptical when I heard Noesi had been added into the package with Jesus Montero when the only player coming back other than Michael Pineda was a 19 year old pitcher who had yet to pitch 100 innings in a season. However, one mere glance at Campos' numbers were enough to convince me the Yankees easily won out in the secondary trade chip exchange.

Stuff wise, Campos throws a fastball that gets into the mid-90s with command and control not often found in such young pitchers, which he compliments with a low to mid-80s slider and an occasional low-70s curveball. As of now, he is able to locate the slider well and throw it for strikes, but the curveball is still a work in progress that is usually out of the zone. Such an advanced and well-used arsenal from a teenager is pretty much unheard of, and the 12-6 curve is nasty enough that given more time could develop into a true plus pitch. Absolutely no problems in the raw stuff department, and his stellar 1.4 BB/9 shows his advanced command. His walks will likely go up as he moves through the levels and faces batters with a better eye, but it should remain above average.Physically, Campos is already a pretty big presence on the mound at 6'4", 195 pounds, but there's still room to bulk up and add some power to his arsenal. Scouts have described him as having a "work-horse build," so fatigue is unlikely to force him into a bullpen role.

The Yankees could be aggressive and start their new young stud in high-A Tampa and look at a late season promotion to AA as they did with Manny Banuelos in 2010. The sudden surplus of major league and AAA arms will allow them to be very patient with their young starter (for once...), a welcome departure from the days of rushing guys up into relief roles. Of course if he's unable to develop his curveball or another change of pace pitch his power arsenal would allow for a fairly seamless transition to the bullpen, but Campos certainly has the potential to become a front end starter.

Major league comparison: Michael Pineda (seriously, they remind me of each other!)

Next up is #4....and then we continue on our countdown #1 of Bleeding Yankee Blue's Top 5 Yankee Prospects of 2012...again.




--Grant Cederquist, BYB Staff Writer



Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.