Q&A with Frankie Piliere, MLB Scout and Analyst: Part Two

Pinstripe Alley: Excluding the Killer B's, who is the best pitching prospect?

Frank Piliere: At this point that title probably belongs to Adam Warren or Hector Noesi. There are some guys at the lower levels, like Bryan Mitchell, who might be poised to jump into that argument as well though.

PA: Which Yankee minor league pitcher (excluding Ivan Nova) is most likely to help the ML club this year?

FP: The way they typically handle these guys I could see the same names I mentioned above being in that mix. [David] Phelps as well. Warren seems the most logical guy to be of assistance in the bullpen. While they obviously think highly of those guys, they aren't going to be as extremely protective of them as they are for guys like Banuelos, Betances or Brackman. I think they'd be much more willing to throw a guy like Warren into the fire.

PA: How does the Yankees' pitching depth, high impact or potential back end starters, stack up against other farm systems?

FP: Their pitching depth is right there with anyone aside from the Royals. The Royals are really on a special level right now.

PA: Last I saw, the Royals are supposed to have the best farm system in the majors right now. Who in their farm system is really promising? Do you think they could use their farm to actually build a respectable team?

FP: Yes, the Royals hands down have the best system in baseball right now. I think it might be one of the most impressive collections of talent I've ever seen. They really have upwards of 10 guys that could legitimately be top 100 prospects. Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Wil Myers, Mike Montgomery, Danny Duffy [and] John Lamb are all fantastic. I think Hosmer could be a truly special big league hitter. But their depth goes well beyond those guys. Chris Dwyer, Christian Colon, [Jeremy] Jefress and a number of other guys are superb prospects as well. I firmly believe they'll contend in the next 2-3 years.

Look for the final part tomorrow.