After several inquiries about the health of Tampa outfielder Slade Heathcott, I decided to see what I could find out. After spending some time toward the end of the first half on Charleston's disabled list, Heathcott was activated and promoted to High-A.

He played one game with the T-Yanks before going back on the shelf, which seemed curious, to say the least. I e-mailed Mark Newman early this morning to find out the nature and extent of the injury, and he responded thusly:

"Left shoulder. Not sure when he will be back. We will know more later this week."

To me, that sounded pretty grim, so I decided to get in touch with someone who doesn't have to be as careful with what he says as Newman. I asked him what he'd heard about Heathcott, and his response was in line with what I'd expected, given what I believed Newman's comments had hinted at.

My source told me that he'd heard Heathcott was done for the year and that a second shoulder surgery was possible. Heathcott had surgery on the shoulder last offseason, but the problem had existed for much longer. Heathcott detailed what he'd been through in April, when the RiverDogs were in town to play the Lakewood BlueClaws.

Here's a snippet of the interview I conducted:

Q: I know you had a little bit of a shoulder thing in the offseason. Can you explain exactly what you went through?

A: I dove in high school and I separated my shoulder and tore my labrum. I tried playing through it and doing shoulder exercises throughout the year, but when I got to instructs I just couldn’t play through it anymore.

I went to Dr. (James) Andrews, and I had a complete tear in the front and the back, so I’m just trying to get back from that. I’m not 100 percent, not anywhere close. I’m good enough to play and not hurt the team.

Q: So you had that problem all of last year?

A: Yes.

Q: Did you know something was wrong?

A: Yep. I knew something was wrong. We knew it before I signed. We knew when I had my pre-signing physical that it was there. I just didn’t think it was bad enough (to do anything about). I could still throw at a high velocity, I just didn’t have much control on where it was going. The shoulder’s still kind of bouncing around, but it’ll get better.

Q: When did you get it fixed?

A: Middle of October. I got my 3.5 (month) release. My first game was about six months out.

Q: If you’re not 100 percent right now, what do you look for out of yourself that will tell you you’re getting closer to being 100 percent?

A: To be honest with you, I don’t have a clue. Knee surgery was easy to come back from for me. I had ACL surgery, but I was back in 3.5 months. With this, I don’t know, it’s just different. … I don’t know. I really don’t know what it will be to be 100 percent.

Q: When’s the last time you thought you were 100 percent?

A: I didn’t necessarily think I wasn’t 100 percent last year. It just gave me questionable throws sometimes. That’s no excuse. I thought I was pretty close to 100 percent last year.

So now the question is: Did the Yankees rush him back, and if so, is that to blame for his latest problem?

Second baseman David Adams, who had his broken foot/ankle improperly diagnosed last year, has gone through a similar set of issues this season, though his outlook, after a long road back, appears to be a bit sunnier.

Adams was held back in Extended Spring Training until April 21, when he went 2-for-4 in a game with the T-Yanks. It's the only non-rehab game he's played so far this year.

He went back on the disabled list after that contest and didn't appear in a box score again until June 20, when he played the first of 10 games with the Gulf Coast League Yankees. He hit .517 during that stint (16-for-31) and has been removed from the GCL's roster and placed back on Tampa's.

When I spoke with Newman last month in Trenton, he said this would be the first step for Adams on his way back to the Thunder, where he was starring before suffering the injury last May.

OTHER BAD NEWS: I also heard today that Nik Turley, the organization's leader in strikeouts, will miss up to a month with a broken hand he incurred when he was caught with a line drive back to the hill.

With Charleston and Tampa this year, Turley, a former 50th-round pick, was 4-6 this season with a 2.81 ERA (second best among the Yankees' full-season affiliates), though his numbers with Tampa weren't particularly good.

MINOR GOOD NEWS: Sean Black, also in Tampa's rotation, is on his way back from tendinitis. He was scheduled to begin a throwing program today.

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.

The Charleston RiverDogs came into New Jersey for a four-game set with the Lakewood BlueClaws last week, and with them came Slade Heathcott, the Yankees’ first-round pick in 2009.

Heathcott, a high school outfielder from Texas, is projected as a five-tool player and the Yankees’ eventual center fielder once Curtis Granderson ages to the point where he can no longer play the position.

Heathcott spoke with The Trentonian before the third game of the series. Here’s what he said:

JN: How do you think your first pro season is going?

SH: It’s going pretty good. I need a little work at the plate at times. I’m a young hitter, I need to learn how to slow the game down a little bit better. I get into rushes and just try to speed through things instead of slowing it down and handling it the right way, so I need to work on that.

JN: Is there a bit of culture shock coming directly from high school into a professional system with all the expectations of a first-round pick?

SH: Not that I’ve felt yet. I’m friends with most of the older guys and get along with the younger guys, too. Me and (catcher J.R.) Murphy are good friends. I’m roommates with (Rob) Lyerly and (Ben) Watkins and (Luke) Murton, so I’m surrounded by older people – I kind’ve like it. It makes you mature a little faster and things like that, so no, I haven’t felt a culture shock.

JN: Not even with life on the road, as compared to high school?

SH: It is. It’s a lot different traveling every day. It’s a lot different when you have a bad night and you’re out there the next day. That’s another thing I’ve got to work on, just realizing that you play this game every day, and if you have a bad day, turn it into a good day the next.

JN: What do you want to do over the rest of this season?

SH: First of all, I just want to play hard every day. I want to play harder than everyone else, that’s always been my goal. That’s just the way I play, so that’d be the first goal. The second goal is just try to figure things out, try to mature as a player and mature at the plate, learn my swing a little better, learn swing situations, and stay calm.

JN: When you got picked, was there any question you’d sign?

SH: I was 90-95 percent sure I was signing, I just didn’t know when. When they drafted me, they told me that it was going to be later if I was going to sign. I had a good idea I was signing.

From the top down, here are today's first-inning at-bats from: Slade Heathcott, J.R. Murphy, Jimmy Paredes, Neil Medchill, Luke Murton, Rob Lyerly, DeAngelo Mack, Kyle Higashioka and Kelvin Castro. Enjoy.

The Charleston RiverDogs, the Yankees' Low-A affiliate in the South Atlantic League, are coming to New Jersey for a four-game set with the Lakewood BlueClaws (Phillies) starting tomorrow. I will be at the first three games of the tilt, and will see the following pitching matchups:

RHP Jose Ramirez (3-4, 3.51) vs. RHP Josh Zeid (5-3, 3.09)
RHP Brett Marshall (1-1, 2.86) vs. RHP Brody Colvin (5-6, 3.67)
LHP Josh Romanski (4-2, 3.28) vs. RHP Trevor May (1-1, 5.06)

These games make me as eager to see baseball as I have been all year. I've seen none of the Charleston hurlers, and am excited to get a second look at Colvin and a first look at May, who started the year in Clearwater.

Of course, that's only the pitchers.

The RiverDogs also have Slade Heathcott and J.R. Murphy, the Yanks' first- and second-round picks from 2009. In total, Charleston has six of New York's first dozen selections from a year ago. The others are: Sean Black, Rob Lyerly, DeAngelo Mack and Neil Medchill.

Lots of pictures and videos to come over the next three days.

Mark Newman, the Yankees VP of Player Development, was on hand during last weekend's series with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Because of time constraints, I didn't catch up with him in person. I did, however, fire him a series of questions via e-mail, and he responded this morning.

Here are my questions and his answers:

Q: Obviously Brandon Laird has been hotter this season than just about anyone could have expected. After seeing him this weekend, and looking at his overall season, what do you think he needs to improve to get him to the next level?

A: Brandon needs to continue his growth as a player in a general sense. While there is no specific need, he needs to refine his approach at the plate and on defense. These are the subtleties of the game and involve adapting to various game situations and pitcher hitter match-ups.

Q: What are your overall impressions on the seasons of Phelps and Romine? Have they hit the expectations you and the organization had for them before the season? With Romine, I'm especially curious about how the organization views his defensive season (I've noticed Mosquera at Waterfront quite a bit.)

A: Phelps and Romine are both on track. Romine will be a very good defensive catcher at the ML level. He will also be a force with the bat. A really good looking young player. Phelps has met or exceeded all of our expectations.

Q: Shifting away from Trenton, you guys have to be ecstatic with the way Betances has responded after surgery. I know it's only four starts, but if he keeps performing like this (or anywhere close, frankly), could we see him with the Thunder toward season's end/playoff time?

A: Betances will be in Tampa. He is only 10 months out of surgery. He will go slow for the near future.

Q: Sticking with Tampa, the rotation down there has been outstanding all season long. Particularly intriguing is Graham Stoneburner, whom I got to see with Charleston earlier this year. Obviously the hard fastball is one of his strengths, and slider is improving. How much more work does the slider need before it's up to the standards the organization would like to see?

A: Stoneburner is making very solid progress with the SL. He should be in Trenton next year. This is his first full professional season and he has already been promoted once this year.

Q: I believe you mentioned to my colleague that David Adams' latest setback on his ankle sprain could cost a few more weeks of rehab. If that is the case, is there a promotion for Corban Joseph in the near future?

A: Adams had a tough injury and he will need a few more weeks. He is a tough guy and a great worker. He will be ready as soon as humanly possible.

Q: It seems that Manny Banuelos is close to returning to action after the long recovery from the appendectomy. What plans are there for his workload the rest of the way as far as getting him up to an appropriate innings load is concerned? Might fall/winter ball be an option?

A: Banuelos will get regular work for the remaining portion of the season. His arm is fine. Appendectomy.

Q: Moving down the ladder a little bit, what are the plans for Slade Heathcott and J.R. Murphy this season. Will they stay at Charleston all season, or might they wind up in Staten Island?

A: Heathcott and Murphy will stay with Charleston.

Q: Speaking of Staten Island, what kind of progress is the organization looking for from Kelvin De Leon in his first season out of rookie ball?

A: DeLeon needs to make contact and allow the plus power to play.

Q: Last one, are there any thoughts to bringing Christian Garcia back into the fold once he completes his latest rehab?

A: Garcia is no longer with the organization and who knows what the future holds. He has had several tough injuries and it is a shame that we have not gotten a chance to see the ability on a regular basis. A good guy with big ability and some very bad luck. We all hope he gets through this and gets to play again.

Missed this earlier today because I was driving home from vacation, but Slade Heathcott, the Yankees' top draft choice from 2009, was promoted to Low-A Charleston earlier today. Heathcott, a high schooler from Texarkana, Tex., had been in extended spring training. To make room, Justin Milo was placed on the 7-Day Disabled List.

Heathcott was 1-for-10 last year in Gulf Coast League action. Should make for exciting times when Charleston comes back to Lakewood in late July.