Toward the beginning of the offseason, I spoke to a couple of scouts about some of the Yankees prospects at Scranton, Trenton and Tampa. I'm no talent evaluator, so I like to talk with scouts as often as possible to get a more professional opinion about what I'm seeing. Here are what a couple of them had to say about some of the pitchers in the system:

GRAHAM STONEBURNER

Arm strength. He can throw strikes with all his pitches, and can get ahead in the count. He lacks deception, and will have to really command his 90-94 (ed note: I've seen 95) mph fastball, which is really straight. Sees him as a back-end starter or a 6/7 inning reliever.

ADAM WARREN

Similar to Stoneburner in that he commands his fastball, which sits in the 90-94 mph range. Has good command of his fastball, which also has sneakiness. Someone else who has a sneaky fastball: David Robertson. His curve and slider are average major league pitches. Has the ability to go up the ladder to get the strikeout.

ANDREW BRACKMAN

Very good stuff. Starter in the big leagues with front-end stuff. Topped at 96 with cutting and tailing action. Big-time breaking stuff.

MANNY BANUELOS

He has a bright future. Sneaky fastball (topped at 94). Plus curve, plus change. Showed big ability. "Whitey Ford didn't have this kid's stuff." No concerns about size. Throw out size when you're talking about a left-hander.

DELLIN BETANCES

He made big strides, topping at 97 with the fastball. Two plus-plus pitches -- FB and CB. Delivery has gotten a lot better, but he still falls off to the first-base side. Top-of-the-rotation stuff.

DAVID PHELPS

Middle-of-the-rotation starter. Good life on his fastball. Pitches with moxie. The kid can pitch. Pitches at 89-94, sitting at 91-92. A lot of confidence.