Every Tuesday, Minor Matters will run down the top 10 players from the Thunder's 2010 season. In a year that saw eight of Baseball America's 16 pitchers (excluding Mike Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino, who were out of the organization) in their top 30, not to mention Austin Romine and Brandon Laird, there were plenty of good choices to go around.

No. 9 - Justin Christian - OF



Why he's here: Signed out of the Atlantic League shortly after April, Christian was a spark plug from the moment he stepped onto the scene in Trenton. Paired with Austin Krum at the top of the lineup, he helped set the table for Austin Romine, Brandon Laird and Marcos Vechionacci in the middle.

He was good throughout his roughly four months with the team, but he truly excelled in August and September. Behold, in the season's penultimate month, Christian put up an extraordinary slash line of .324/.409/.946 with three home runs, 12 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 11 chances.

That boost late in the season helped Trenton keep the Eastern League East flag from a hard-charging New Hampshire team, and earned him a late promotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Biggest moment of the season: Breaking the Thunder's career stolen base record (see video above). That swipe marked Christian's 102nd with the team, breaking Kevin Thompson's mark from three years prior.

On breaking that record, Christian said this:

“(Records are) meant to be broken. I look at it kind of like I’ve been here too long in order to set this record, but for the most part, it’s exciting. It was great.”

Outlook for 2011: Christian is currently in Mexico, playing for the Caneros de los Mochis. He will more than likely be a minor league free agent, so his future with the Yankees is up in the air.