Beginning today, Beating the Bushes will counting down to the start of the 2010 baseball season, which will take place at Fenway Park April 4, when the Yankees take on the Red Sox.
In the first part of our season preview, Bushes will look back at Baseball America’s Top 10 prospect lists for the Mets and Yankees organizations from 2000-2009. Today we’ll look at the 2000 lists.
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The Yankees list from 2000 is filled with names most average fans would recognize. Guys like Jake Westbrook, Wily Mo Pena and Nick Johnson (now back with the Yankees) all forged at least productive major league careers, while one player from this list became a big-time star.
10. Jake Westbrook, RHP — The Yankees traded Westbrook, after a brief cameo, in 2000 to the Indians as part of the package that brought David Justice to the Bronx. Since the trade, Westbrook has pitched well for Cleveland, becoming a regular member of their starting rotation. He’s missed much of the last two seasons due to Tommy John surgery.
9. Randy Keisler, LHP — The stereotypical journeyman left-hander, Keisler had a cup of coffee with nearly half of the league by the time his career ended in 2008. After pitching to a 6.11 ERA in 10 starts with the Yankees in 2001, Keisler then spent time with the Padres, Rangers, Astros, Mets, Reds, Athletics, Cardinals, Twins, Cubs and Orioles before he hung ’em up.
8. Todd Noel, RHP — After the Marlins drafted him out of a Louisiana high school in 1996, he was dealt to the Yankees in 1999 as part of the Mike Lowell trade. The right-hander began to move fairly quickly through the organization. But he stalled out in High-A thanks to injuries, and was out of baseball before his 25th birthday.
7. Wily Mo Pena, OF — Pena had an interesting career, to say the least. The Mets originally signed him out of the Dominican Republic, before the Yankees signed him after his Mets contract was voided. He then was dealt to the Reds so the Yankees could re-acquire third baseman Drew Henson (more on him below). Pena then played parts of four seasons with the Reds — including hitting 26 homers in 2004 — before being dealt again, this time to the Red Sox for Bronson Arroyo. He was later traded to the Nationals for a player to be named later, and spent a brief time last season in the minor leagues with the Mets before being released.
6. Ed Yarnall, RHP — Yarnall’s transaction history is much more interesting than his very brief time in the majors (20 total innings across the 1999 and 2000 seasons). The Mets originally drafted him in the 3rd round in 1996, before sending him to Florida in 1998 as part of the package that netted the Amazin’s Mike Piazza. The next season, Yarnall was dealt to the Yankees, along with Noel, in the Lowell deal. He then was dealt as part of a package, along with the next player on this list, to Cincinnati for Denny Neagle in 2000. He later bounced around the minors with several teams, and never again reached the majors.
5. Jackson Melian, OF — Melian, who signed with the Yankees out of Venezuela in 1996, never made it to the major leagues. He was part of the Neagle trade with Cincinnati in 2000, and while he made it to Triple-A four different times, playing over 100 games at that level, he never got a crack at the big leagues.
4. D’Angelo Jiminez, SS — Jiminez had a lengthy, journeyman career, but nothing more. After a brief stint with the Yankees in 1999, Jiminez was dealt to the Padres for reliever Jay Witasick in 2001. He then spent parts of the next few seasons with the Padres, White Sox, Reds, Rangers, Athletics, Nationals and Cardinals. He played for Veracruz in the Mexican League last year.
3. Drew Henson, 3B — Henson gained notoriety around the sports world after being drafted by the Yankees to play third base and being recruited by Michigan to be its starting quarterback. After his football career at Michigan never got off the ground, Henson turned to baseball full-time, but with no better results. As mentioned earlier, Henson was traded to Cincinnati as part of the Denny Neagle trade, and then was traded back to the Yankees in exchange for Wily Mo Pena. His baseball career fizzled out soon afterwards, but he spent the next few years as a backup quarterback for the Cowboys, Vikings and Lions.
2. Alfonso Soriano, SS — And now you know who the star on the list was. Soriano has certainly been that in his major league career, making seven All-Star teams and winning four Silver Sluggers. Soriano was, of course, famously dealt to the Rangers in 2004 in the trade that brought Alex Rodriguez to New York, and then was dealt to the Nationals before the 2006 season. He has played the last three seasons with the Cubs after signing there as a free agent after the ’06 season.
1. Nick Johnson, 1B — A slick-fielding, on-base percentage machine, Johnson has struggled with injuries throughout his major league career. After getting a cup of coffee with the Yankees in 2001, Johnson played the next two years in the Bronx before being dealt to Montreal after the ’03 season as part of the package that netted the Yankees Javier Vazquez. He spent the next several years with the Expos/Nationals, with his best year coming in 2006, when he hit .290 with 23 home runs and 77 RBI. He was traded to the Marlins for pitcher Aaron Thompson midway through last season, and he re-signed with the Yankees during the winter to be the team’s primary designated hitter in 2010.
tbontemps@nypost.com
