One of the best parts of my job is getting to talk to scouts on a regular basis. I'm nowhere near a scout myself, so their evaluations help me complete the picture of what I'm seeing on the field. I can read radar guns and work a stopwatch (though I don't actually bring one to games with me), but that's about it. Recently, I sat down with one scout who covers the Yankees to get his opinions on the three affiliates he's seen so far. He's what he had to say about a few of the players on the RiverDogs.

BICHETTE: Bichette has not made any adjustments since I saw him last year. It's the same bailing swing. Not really a great athlete, so it's hard to see him getting much better. Just very unimpressive.

CULVER: Culver just did not swing the bat well. I'm a little concerned with Culver in the field, too, because it looks like, to me, he's a little thicker on the bottom half, so I think he's lost a step. That's concerning, because he's a good defender. I don't think he's ever going to hit. 

CAMPOS: He only pitched three innings. I like the delivery. Fastball is down-plane. The breaking ball is pretty good. I'd like to see him again. I don't think he's at full strength. I don't think I saw the real guy yet, but what I saw I liked. I'm going to reserve final judgment until I get to see him again because it's only three innings. He showed me some good things, but the jury's out. He's got a chance. He's got a good arm, but we'll see. 

I think he's got a chance to start. I like the full wind-up. I think he repeats it. The breaking ball has got to get a little bit sharper and better, but I think he can do it. 

ENCINAS: He had a really bad command day when I saw him. Walked five guys and hit one in like 3 1/3 innings, but the stuff flashed pretty good. I think he's more of a reliever for me. I think he's got some effort in that arm, so I think he's more of a reliever for me. He was getting up to 94.