First off, if you're any sort of fan of the minor leagues, or prospects, or baseball, or Mexican Coke, you need to be listening to the Up and In podcast, a product of the superb Baseball Prospectus. Each week, the pair discuss the issues of the day with each other, as well as some fantastic guests.
This week, their guest was Yankees Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations Mark Newman, who spent about 30 minutes discussing a variety of topics regarding his club and baseball as a whole.

Here are some highlights of that interview:

On the advancement of the system's pitching prospects:

"In the 22-plus years I've been with the Yankees, we haven't had anything like this happen."

On their thinking when they drafted Andrew Brackman in 2007:

"(He was a) flier for a high-ceiling, top-of-the-rotation type of pitcher."

On Brackman's future:

"We still think he can be something more than an No. 4 or a No. 5 (starter)."

On Jesus Montero's defense:

"(He) absolutely can catch in the big leagues - and will catch in the big leagues."

On Cito Culver:

"He can really play defense for a young guy. He's got a kind of handsy approach to hit."

A couple of other nuggets:

-- Dellin Betances is in consideration for the Triple-A rotation next year

-- Brett Marshall is working on his slider in the instructional league

Be sure to check out the full episode of the podcast, which you can do by downloading it here.