On the heels of the interview with Tony Franklin interview this morning, I was lucky enough to get a chance to speak with new Thunder hitting coach Tom Slater this evening. He managed the Staten Island Yankees last year, the Gulf Coast League the year before, and has been in the Yankees system for the last four years.

As such, he's gotten a chance to see just about every young player in the system, and was willing to share a few of his insights about a few guys you'll see this year at Waterfront Park, as well as a couple of guys who might need another year at the lower levels. It's a bit lengthy, but it's worth the read. Enjoy.

Q: After managing in the Gulf Coast League in 2010 and with Staten Island last year, why do you think the Yankees assigned you to Double-A in 2012?

A: I don't know. You'd have to ask Pat Roessler that question. Six called me in October and told me I would be heading up to Trenton. Obviously I'm excited about it, getting a chance to be with Tony Franklin and Tommy Phelps, two class guys, so I'm looking forward to it. As far as why, I guess you'd probably have to ask Six that question.

Q: Besides working with the Yankees, what else do you have on your coaching resume?

A: I'm going on my fourth year with the Yankees, I just got done with the Fall League in Arizona. Yankees sent me out there this fall. Prior to the years with the Yankees I coached in college for 17 years.

Q: With the Arizona Fall League, then, you got to see some of the more experienced guys in the system, as opposed to the younger, more raw guys you'd worked with at the complex and with Staten Island.

A: Yeah, I was out there with Corb and Ronnier and Rob Segedin, and a few of our pitchers that you guys had last year -- Chase Whitley and Preston Claiborne and Dan Burawa, who I know were at Tampa last year, as well as David Phelps from the Triple-A club. All those guys were out there. It was a good time, those guys all did well and I certainly enjoyed my time out there as well.

Q: What's the difference with working with guys at the upper levels as opposed to kids who are just getting their feet wet in pro ball?

A: I think, with the younger guys, be it Gulf Coast League or Staten Island, some of the first-year guys, you're doing a lot of the stuff that's introductory to those guys. They are learning the Yankees system, the way we do certain things, be it team defense, the way we run the bases, whatever.

Obviously by the time they're up there in Trenton where you guys get to see them, they've been through rookie ball, short season, and then either Charleston or Tampa. It's an older, more mature and obviously more polished player.

Q: Let's get specific, then. With a guy like Mustelier, who's older but new to pro ball, what do you do with a guy like him?

A: I tell you what, I was really impressed with Ronnie out in Arizona. He really swung the bat well, showed the ability to hit the ball, to really use the whole field. Probably what was the most impressive -- I had been told what a good hitter he was -- but he really played defense well. He played third base a lot there, and he really played third base well.

The young guys, like I said, down in the Gulf Coast and in Staten Island, you're really helping those guys establish a routine, and hopefully you're helping them establish a routine that they can carry throughout.

With the older guys, Mustelier, Corb, Rob Segedin, these guys are a little bit older and they've already established their routines. It's a matter of helping them stick with it. Those guys all work extremely hard out in the fall league, and it was fun to be around them.

Q: Have you had a chance to work with Tony Franklin before?

A: Just in spring training, a lot in spring training over the last couple of years. What a great guy. What a great baseball guy. Really a class individual. I've always enjoyed my time around him down in spring training.

Q: What would you say your biggest strength is as a coach?

A: To be honest with you, I wouldn't say. It's not something I really want to talk about -- myself -- that much. I'm just honored to have the opportunity to get up there and coach with a bunch of good players and a great staff.

Q: Well, if you don't want to talk about yourself, then let's talk about a few of the players you might see up here at Trenton this year. First, Zoilo Almonte.

A: Yeah, Zoilo, what a great player. I really enjoyed having him down in extended spring training a couple of years ago. Tremendous athlete, tremendous skills, pop -- a lot of pop in his bat. ... Just great tools, an exciting player. Like I said, three years ago when we were together down in extended spring training, (he was) just an exciting guy to be around. That bat is fun to watch hit.

Q: How about Rob Lyerly?

A: Rob's another guy that I've gotten to know. He went straight to Staten Island out of college. I got to know him in Spring Training with some of the early work we do in January and February with the guys before Spring Training starts.

Another guy who can drive the ball. I know that at both Charleston and in Tampa, he really put up good numbers hitting, and from what I've seen of Rob, he's a guy who really drives the ball well to left-center, right-center, stays on the ball well, lot of doubles; good middle-of-the-field, gap-to-gap approach. I know he got up there with you guys for a spell last year. He's a hard-working kid who's fun to be around.

Q: I don't think Trenton's going to see him until later in the year, perhaps, but J.R. Murphy.

A: I was fortunate enough to have Murph down in the Gulf Coast League the first year he signed. He's very intelligent, he's got a great demeanor and he's got a really great approach. He had a great high school coach who prepared him well.

He's just a guy with a great demeanor and a great approach coming out of high school right into pro ball right from the get-go. He signed late, but he was able to play for us there at the end of the Gulf Coast League and was dropped right into the middle of our lineup. He did a great job, and I know he's continued to do a great job.

I know he was putting up really great numbers in Charleston last year and really swinging the bat well. Unfortunately, I think he broke a foot when he first got to Tampa, but quality guy, good hitter and just a great professional demeanor.

Q: Same deal for another guy who the Thunder probably won't see this year but who is intriguing to Yankees fans nonetheless -- Gary Sanchez.

A: I had the pleasure of having Gary two years ago, and ... just a tremendous talent. Tremendous talent. He overmatched the Gulf Coast League a couple of years ago. I mean, .350 with, I don't remember how many home runs it was, nine, in a short period of time. Then he went up to Staten Island at the end of the year just as a 17-year-old guy.

Last year, I know he really got on a hot streak in Charleston with the home runs before his season got cut short by an injury as well. Just a tremendous hitter, a guy that will hit for power and for average.

Q: Just two more, the next name I'm curious about is Kyle Roller.

A: Kyle, like Rob, is a guy I've had a chance to spend some time around in spring training and in the early parts of January and February for some extra work with those guys. Again, a strong, good-looking hitter. From everything you read in the reports and everything you see, I know he's had a lot of success at Staten Island, at Charleston and in Tampa last year.

He's a guy who uses the whole field, drives the ball well to left-center field, has a lot of power in his bat, and is a good-looking hitter.

Q: Last name I'm going to mention, and he won't get to Trenton this year, but Mason Williams is the talk of the organization, so I've got to ask you about him.

A: Again, I've had the great fortune of having Mason. I had him Staten Island this year, he was the Player of the Year in the New York-Penn League. He hit .350, played a tremendous center field, stole 28 bases. He's an exciting young player, and comes to play every day and loves to compete. I'm biased. I've had him for the last two years, and he's really a good-looking young player.

Q: What could you say about his work ethic?

A: It's tremendous. Tremendous work ethic. That whole group of 2010 draft kids, guys who were first at the yard every day at Staten Island, they put in countless hours at the cages with Ty Hawkins, and they also put in good work at the fields defensively in their pregame work as well.

Every one of those kids, whether it's Mason, Cito, Ben Gamel, Tyler Austin, Angelo Gumbs, just a really special group of young players.

For no reason at all, I have decided to have a little fun today on the blog. Thus, today is catcher day. I will post as many things as I have available about the catchers up and down the Yankees system.

Why catcher? First, it's one of the team's positions of strength. From Montero to Romine to Murphy to Sanchez to Liccien to Bird, the Yankees are bursting with backstops. Second, and more selfishly, I happen to have a good deal of catcher-related media lying around, including video clips and unpublished interviews.

So, to start the day, here's an interview I did with Sanchez in April, when the Charleston RiverDogs were in town for a five-game set with the Lakewood BlueClaws. Because Sanchez speaks very little English, the interview was done through a translator, which is why I asked some of the questions in second person.

Q: With the situation with his heart, was he scared when all that was happening?

A: I didn’t really feel it that much. I was practicing and everything, during all that time. But they found something in the tests, and it was like a precautionary measure. I wasn’t concerned. I was always in good shape, ready to play.

Q: What was the procedure they performed? (points to chest area) I don’t see a scar there.

A: There’s not a really a scar. They didn’t cut. It was just two insertions (above his groin on his right leg). You can’t even see them.

Q: What prompted the tests?

A: The heartbeat, when he was running, there was a nerve in the heart, and it was accelerating his heartbeat.

Q: Do you remember a specific point where you felt something was wrong?

A: No. Not really.

Q: How relieved is he that they found it now and took care of it this early in his life?

A: I feel normal, actually. I never felt bad. That was something the doctors detected in my body. I never really felt anything, any discomfort or anything like that.

Q: You got a pretty big chunk of money to sign with the Yankees. What did you do with that initial signing bonus? Any big first purchases?

A: No. I have everything at home. My family is taking care of it.

Q: Do you feel pressure after getting that much of a bonus?

A: No.

Q: This is your first year in full-season ball. What have the biggest challenges been through the first month of the season?

A: The trips are killing me. After the trips, I’m very, very, very exhausted. I’m very tired.

Q: Because he’s catching all the time?

A: You go crazy on the bus. There’s too much time spent on the bus.

Q: What’s the longest trip?

A: Thirteen or fourteen hours (this one)

Q: Do you sleep on the bus?

A: I couldn’t sleep very well. I was tossing and turning.

Q: How does life in American ball compare to the sport in the Dominican?

A: In the Dominican, I played in my little league (not Little League). Here, you play professionally. There’s a lot at stake here, as opposed to playing over there.

Q: Can you think of one thing that made him stand out to the Yankees or any other team that may have wanted to sign him?

A: It was my normal workout. I was hitting the ball and throwing well to the bases.

Q: With the heart again, what did your parents think? How nervous were they that, at 18, their son needed heart surgery?

A: They didn’t know. When I went to New York, I explained to them, and my family was at the hospital. They did visit me at the medical center.

Q: With all the catching prospects the Yankees have, do you like having all of those good catchers in the system at the same time?

A: I’m going to do my job and let them do theirs. I’m going to try to do the best I can.

Although his first year of full-season ball was cut short by injury and dotted with questions about his maturity (those things tend to dog 18-year-olds), the numbers -- especially in the second half --looked pretty good for the premier position prospect in one of the game's better systems.

He finished with a .256/.335/.485 line with 17 home runs and 52 RBIs, struck out 93 times against 36 walks (oddly, none were intentional). Interestingly, his average and on-base percentage dipped in the second half, but his slugging jumped more than 100 points, thanks in large part to 12 longballs in 136 at-bats.

And while the defensive numbers were nothing short of ghastly, two scouts I spoke with were unfazed, saying that they liked his athleticism and instincts behind the plate, as well as his plus arm. When questioned, both preferred Sanchez longterm to Montero.

More than likely Sanchez will begin next season in High-A Tampa, with an outside chance to finish it in Trenton. That said, we saw last year with J.R. Murphy and Slade Heathcott that the Yankees are not afraid to hold players back if there's something there they still need to work on.

TRENTON – It’s out with the new and in with the old for the Thunder – again. Kevin Millwood, whom the Yankees signed late this offseason, will make his 2011debut on Sunday at Waterfront Park. He’ll take the place of Manny Banuelos, who was placed on the disabled list yesterday with a gnarly blister on his left thumb.

Dellin Betances, the other of the team’s pair of high-echelon starters, was also placed on the shelf yesterday with the same blister problem. In his case, the right pointer finger was the offending digit.

Millwood signed with the Yankees on March 25, less than a week before big league camp broke. He stuck around the minor league complex, along with veteran Mark Prior, and threw bullpen sessions in front of team pitching guru Billy Connors, who will accompany Millwood to Trenton.

No specific rules for Millwood were spelled out yesterday by Thunder manager Tony Franklin or pitching coach Tommy Phelps. It’s a safe bet there will be rules coming, however. Millwood pitched against Phillies minor leaguers earlier in the week.

If he makes it to the major leagues with the Yankees, it will be his sixth major league organization. He’s pitched for Atlanta, Cleveland, Texas, Baltimore and Philadelphia. He pitched a no-hitter for the Phillies on April 27, 2003 against San Francisco.

As for Banuelos and Betances, the blisters don’t seem to be a product of the cold. Banuelos says his troubles began during his last work of the spring, an intrasquad game between the Tampa and Charleston work groups on April 2. Although he was slated for Trenton all along, Banuelos started and pitched 4 2/3 innings for the Tampa group.

Afterward, he says, he noticed the thumb beginning to flare up but he kept it to himself.

“I didn’t tell (anyone) nothing,” he said. “Just after the game, I showed it to the trainer and he was surprised. I didn’t show him before the game. It was hard (to pitch with), especially my fastball.”

He pitched with injury on Monday in the first game of the Thunder’s series with Portland, and made it out of four innings unscathed. His pitch count, not the blister, was the reason for his removal that night, and he didn’t expect to be put on the shelf.

Despite its yellow, exposed appearance, Banuelos says he feels better, and will begin throwing tomorrow, starting with a casual game of catch. If that progresses as planned, he’ll throw a bullpen session on Saturday.

Betances is also expected back next week, possibly as early as Monday, if his rehab measures go as planned.

For his part, Franklin doesn’t seem concerned about losing his two top pitchers before his team has even played its first home game. It is, after all, only April 14.

“How many more games are there this season,” he asked. “There’s no reason to panic being 2-4 right now. I get a little bit concerned over the two pitchers we lost, because they have pretty good futures ahead of them and they need to be pitching. I’m not that concerned about (the start) right now.”

NOTES: Gary Sanchez, the Yankees’ No. 2 prospect according to Baseball America, was placed on the disabled list yesterday in Charleston. The severity of his injury is unknown, but the team called up backstop Nick McCoy from the Charleston roster to take his place. … Brian Anderson, a former outfielder with the White Sox, was called to Trenton to take a spot on the roster. He’ll work out of the bullpen, and operates with a low-to-mid 90s fastball as well as a pair of breaking pitches. ... The rotation after today's game is Graham Stoneburner, Craig Heyer, Kevin Millwood and Steve Garrison.

Here's today's lineup:

1. Krum - LF
2. Pirela - SS
3. Romine -C
4. Suttle - 3B
5. Johnson - DH
6. Mesa - CF
7. Joseph - 2B
8. Maruszak -1B
9. Kruml -RF
10. Hall - LHSP

Bad injury news: Charleston catcher and Yankees stud prospect is hurt, I have heard. I don't know the severity of the injury yet, but I expect to get details on that later in the evening. He's on the disabled list with the RiverDogs right now.

Additionally, Dellin Betances has been put on the Trenton disabled list with a blister. Mark Newman said he's expected to miss "a start," and he's eligible to come off the shelf on the 18th. I expect him to start that date.

Day two of The Trentonian's trip to Tampa for minor league spring training is in the books, and here's six videos that are the fruits of our labor on a disgustingly rainy Monday. From the top, there's footage of: Robinson Cano, Gary Sanchez, Jesus Montero, Eduardo Sosa, Yadil Mujica and Brett Marshall.

Baseball America, considered by many to be the bible of the minor league baseball world, released its annual Top 100 Prospects list today, and the Yankees were well represented. The following six Bombers farmhands made the list:

No. 3 - Jesus Montero - C ... Top Tool: Power - 70-grade
No. 30 - Gary Sanchez - C ... Top Tool: Power - 70-grade
No. 41 - Manny Banuelos - SP ... Top Tool: Command - 60-grade
No. 43 - Dellin Betances - SP ... Top Tool: Fastball - 70-grade
No. 78 - Andrew Brackman - SP ... Top Tool: Curveball - 70-grade
No. 98 - Austin Romine - C ... Top Tool: Arm - 60-grade

The other minor league must-read, Baseball Prospectus, released its Top 101 prospects in the back of its annual book. Kevin Goldstein put four Yankees on his list, and they are:

No. 3 - Jesus Montero - C
Key quote: "Montero presumably has everything it takes to be a middle-of-the-order force on a championship-level team."

No. 27 - Manny Banuelos - SP
Key quote: "His stuff and polish makes it easy for scouts not to hold his lack of size against him, and he should reach Yankee Stadium before he's legal to drink ... "

No. 29 - Gary Sanchez - C
Key quote: "Despite being just 17 years old, Sanchez looked like a man among boys in his Gulf Coast League debut, already bringing his plus-plus power into game situations."

No. 32 - Dellin Betances - SP
Key quote: "When he returned from Tommy John Surgery in 2010, everything about his game took a big step in the right direction; he maintained his mid-90s fastball while showing much-improved command and control to go with a curveball that was nearly unhittable when it was on."

Yes, his defense is beyond poor, and will not get him far in the major leagues.

For Jesus Montero, briefly a Thunder catcher and our choice for the Yankees’ top prospect entering the Hot Stove season, the defense is merely a footnote.

It’s his bat that generates the ink — and justifiably so.

Montero recovered from an ice-cold start to dominate the International League at a tender 20 years old.

After May was completed, he looked lost, compiling just three home runs and 21 RBIs. By the time the season finished those totals were at 21 and 75, meaning he’d swatted an incredible 18
bombs and drove home 54 runs in a span of just 79 games.

The finish was so hot, in fact, that some were clamoring for Montero to earn a September call-up. A late infection quashed those talks, but the youngster will almost surely play a role in the Yankees’ catching picture in 2011.

2. Manny Banuelos - LHP
Continuing the trend of youth flourishing at the upper levels, there’s Manny Banuelos, a Mexican southpaw who, at just 19 years old, more than held his own at Double-A over the final few weeks of the season.

Scheduled as High-A Tampa’s Opening Day starter, Banuelos underwent an emergency appendectomy and missed more than two months before debuting in mid-June.
No matter, Banuelos bullied his way north from Florida to join the Thunder in the midst of a hotly contested pennant chase with the Fisher Cats.

The lefty wound up pitching his finest game during the finale of Trenton’s three-game sweep in the Eastern League Division Series, dispatching New Hampshire in dominating fashion.
Expect him to make a return to trip to central New Jersey next April.

3. Andrew Brackman - RHP
After seeming incapable of throwing a strike in 2009, things finally came together for Brackman last season.

After some early struggles, Brackman found his way in Tampa and earned a promotion to Trenton shortly thereafter.

Slowly but surely, control and confidence returned for Brackman, who admittedly was still not at 100 percent after having Tommy John surgery shortly after being drafted in 2007.

By the end of the season, the 6-foot-10 Brackman was the Thunder’s most dominant pitcher. He earned the team’s only win in the EL Championship series, flashing as high as 98 miles per hour and showcasing a devastating spike curveball.

It seems a coin-flip as to whether Brackman returns to Double-A to start next year.

4. Dellin Betances - RHP
Like Banuelos, Betances began the year on the shelf, although his absence was expected.
The 6-foot-8, 240-pounder spent April and May recovering from ligament reenforcement surgery on his throwing elbow.

When he returned, so did his high-90s fastball and wipeout curveball, as well as a revamped change-up and a much-improved sense of command.

New weapons in tow, Betances tore up the Florida State League, allowing a scant 43 hits in 71 innings, while fanning 88 against just 19 walks.

He’ll more than likely return to Trenton in 2011, but could move quickly.

5. Gary Sanchez - C
Another young, slugging catcher from Latin America?

Yep.

Just 17 years old, Sanchez, whom the Yankees signed out of the Dominican Republic for $3 million, was a man above boys in the Gulf Coast League. He slugged six bombs in 31 games before earning the promotion to Short Season Staten Island.

He struggled a bit there, but the dirt on Sanchez remains the same: He’ll hit, and hit a ton.

6. Slade Heathcott - OF
New York’s first-rounder in 2009, Heathcott spent the year in Low-A Charleston, and put up fine numbers for a 19-year-old getting his feet wet in pro ball.

The numbers tell one story, but here’s another: During one game of his I saw this year, Heathcott collected two hits against the Lakewood BlueClaws.

On the surface, that’s nice, but not exceptional. When you consider he did it while missing a contact lens, it shows some pretty nice determination from the young man.

7. Austin Romine - C
Handling the duties for Trenton all season, Romine didn’t quite flourish, but he didn’t flounder, either.

He hit .268 with 31 doubles, 10 home runs and 69 RBIs. The defense, while drawing some very positive reviews from scouts, didn’t look great on the stat sheet.

Still, his six passed balls marked a career low, and he expertly guided a talented and fluid staff all year long.

His work behind the dish does have flaws — he doesn’t handle velocity as well as he should, and he sometimes rushes himself — but he’ll e 22 next season, so there’s no reason to think he can’t overcome his problems.

8. J.R. Murphy - C
Another in a line of young, talented backstops, Murphy more than held his own in his full-season debut with Charleston — including a two-HR, nine-RBI game in mid-August.

He split time with Kyle Higashioka, and is athletic enough to perhaps move to the outfield down the line.

His .255/.327/.703 line doesn’t jump out at you, but seven bombs and 51 RBIs as a 19-year-old isn’t bad.

Still, he’s extremely polished, and could handle the staff next year at High-A.

9. Hector Noesi - RHP
He tossed the Thunder’s first nine-inning complete game since 2008, and apart from a mid-season struggle with his stride, Noesi was the team’s workhorse until he was moved up to Scranton for the season’s final weeks.

His solid four-pitch mix is enhanced by impeccable control.

He’ll start 2011 in Triple-A, more than likely.

10. David Phelps - RHP
Lost in the hubbub surround Brackman, Banuelos and Betances was Phelps, who quietly carried Trenton’s staff through the first part of the season.

He sports a a low-to-mid-90s fastball that he throws with excellent command and confidence anywhere in the zone.

Phelps was up and down after he was promoted to Scranton, but with a good showing in the early season, he could push for a spot in the 2011 bullpen.

I was at the Staten Island vs. Lowell game last night to watch, among others, Yankees catching prospect Gary Sanchez. Here are all four of his at-bats. In order, he grounds out, reaches on an error, gets hit by a pitch and reaches on a fielder's choice.