Baby Bombers: Baseball America's Top 10 Yankee Prospects

The official post from Baseball America doesn't come out for a few days, but Trenton Thunder beat writer Josh Norris (@jnorris427) tweeted out the list a little early.

The top 10 and the last level they played at in 2012:

1. Mason Williams - High A Tampa
2. Slade Heathcott - High A Tampa
3. Gary Sanchez - High A Tampa
4. Tyler Austin - AA Trenton
5. Jose Campos - Low A Charleston
6. Brett Marshall - AA Trenton
7. Angelo Gumbs - Low A Charleston
8. Manny Banuelos - AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
9. Ty Hensley - GCL
10. Rafael DePaula - DSL

Assorted thoughts:

- Austin Romine, Dante Bichette Jr., Ravel Santana, Dellin Betances, and J.R. Murphy fell off the list from last year.

- Slade Heathcott jumped from 10th in 2012 to 2nd in 2013 after returning from injury. He needs to stay healthy to keep the spot. He's probably the biggest surprise on this list to me, and I don't think I'd have ranked him as high as BA did.

- Jose Campos still making the 5th spot after missing most of the season due to injury is a testament to his potential, as he was on fire for Charleston before he got hurt. He may prove to be the highlight of the Montero/Pineda trade if Pineda can't come back effectively from his torn labrum.

- The majority of talent in the system is still concentrated in the lower levels of the minors, but Tyler Austin, Slade Heathcott, and Brett Marshall will be bringing that a little closer to the majors for 2013. Hopefully Williams and Sanchez aren't too far behind them.

- I'm a little surprised that Mark Montgomery didn't make the list at all after tearing up various levels of the system this year, but I suppose that's the life of a reliever. We still love you, Mark.

- Rafael DePaula's development after chasing down a visa for years will be something to watch. He has tons of promise, even after a lot of missed developmental time. He's nowhere close to the majors yet, but it will still be interesting to see if he was worth waiting for.

- Also from BA, according to Norris: Mason Williams' grades on the 20/80 scale - Batting: 60, Power: 60, Speed: 70, Defense: 70, Arm: 50

There will be more, I'm sure, when the official post is released from BA on the 9th. This is a pretty good preview, though.