A few notes of interest from ESPN legend Peter Gammons latest chat:

• From the sound of things, Gammons thinks Clayton Kershaw is certain to be a factor for the Dodgers this year.  Their main concern is limiting his inning early so he finishes in the 150-160 IP range.
• Tigers manager Jim Leyland thinks Detroit’s first pick in the 2007 Draft, Rick Porcello, will be with the big league club some time this season.
• Gammons also notes that players like Porcello, the Yankees Austin Jackson, Andrew Brackman, and Ian Kennedy, the Red Sox Lars Anderson, Ryan Kalish, Anthony Rizzo, David Mailman, and Will Middlebrooks, will have a serious impact on this year’s draft.  Of course these players are all now top prospects who were drafted way above slot in later rounds.
• Picking player comparables is always tricky business, but Gammons thinks the best comparable he’s heard for Yankees SP Ian Kennedy is the Blue Jays SP Shaun Marcum.

• Joba Chamberlain took some lumps in his two innings on Wednesday, allowing a walk, two hits, and two earned runs courtesy of a deep two-run jack by Twins outfielder Garrett Jones. Chamberlain and Yankees manager Joe Girardi were philosophical about the 22-year old’s “learning experience.”
• Ian Kennedy, who historically has had little trouble locating his fastball, left one over the plate for his old buddy Delmon Young to dispatch over the center field fence on Wednesday. For his first appearance against professional hitters this spring, it was an otherwise decent two-inning outing. Kennedy is expected to fill a spot on the back end of the Yankees rotation to start the season, a quick rise to the show for the Yankees’ top pick in 2006.
• Brian Hoch of MLB.com writes that 2004 first-round pick Phil Hughes has put a little more zip on his fastball, and is headed for the Yankees’ starting rotation.
• The Yankees have an abundance of young talent in their minor league system, primarily pitching, that led their Double-A Trenton team to the Eastern League title last year. Two are making comebacks from Tommy John surgery: Mark Melancon, a 9th round pick in 2006 out of Arizona, and Humberto Sanchez, who before surgery posted a 1.76 ERA in 11 starts for Double-A Erie, and a 3.86 ERA for Triple-A Toledo with 1.06 K/IP.  Dellin Betances, a 2006 draft pick out of high school, is making a comeback from forearm tightness that ended his 2007 season prematurely.

Lisa Winston of MLB.com reports that New York Yankees CF prospect, Austin Jackson, is skyrocketing up the depth chart and is likely to begin the season at AA-Trenton.  This is a huge promotion for the former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket, who only played 67 games for A-Tampa last season (although he did hit .345 in those 67 games).  For more information about Baseball America’s #41 prospect, you can hear details straight to the horse’s mouth, so to speak.  Jackson will be one of six players keeping a regular online journal this season, which you can find on MiLB.com.

According to Tyler Kepner of The New York Times, Mike Mussina doesn’t see the point in limiting young pitchers.

“They’re an asset, and you have to take care of your assets. At the same time, they’re not 19-year-old kids, either. They’re certainly capable of doing it. You just have to see how they’re doing in August.”

Ironic, since it will soon be a young pitcher that will be taking his spot in the rotation, maybe as early as this season. In the same breath, Mussina says that he hopes that Joba Chamberlain will remain the setup man for a while, saying:

“I like what Joba was doing last year. That’s a pretty big role, too, getting to the closer. You look in the post-season, the teams that can fill in that space from the starter to the closer are the teams that do well.”

That seems to conflict a bit with Mussina’s previous stance, since leaving a pitcher of Chamberlain’s caliber in merely a setup role is practically the definition of “limiting a young pitcher”.

Is it possible that the real reason Mussina wants Chamberlain to stay the setup-man is because he knows he could be the odd-man-out of the rotation? With Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes, and Chamberlain starting that would leave Ian Kennedy and Mussina to duke it out for the fifth spot. Kennedy is a 24-year-old top prospect in the organization, and part of a powerful young trio that Manager Joe Girardi would like to keep together for a long time. What’s more, according to Gerry Fraley of Sportingnews.com it is Yankees GM Brian Cashman’s plan to have more than 70 starts by pitchers 25 or younger this season.

Things do not look good for Moose, who has been roughed up already this spring for 5 runs in 2 innings. Even though the Yankees are paying him $11.5 million this year and will be counting on him as a starter to open the season, it wouldn’t surprise us to see him lose his job if he can’t pull it together when winning games becomes a priority… which it always is for the Yankees. Fantasy owners should pick up low-risk-high-reward Ian Kennedy in the final rounds of the draft and wait patiently to see how things pan out.

Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy, and Phil Hughes took down University of South Florida Friday in an 11-4 victory in a taste of whats to come. George A. King III of the New York Post relates that the three are relieved none of them were traded for Johan Santana and are looking to reward the Yankees for sticking with them.

Chamberlain got the start (even though he will be starting the season as Mariano Rivera’s setup man) and retired all six batters he faced, striking out two of them. Kennedy also worked two scoreless innings and gave up a single, the only hit allowed by the trio. Hughes struck out two in one inning of work.

Part of their success can be attributed to Andy Pettitte’s early morning workout routine with the young pitchers. Chamberlain, Kennedy, and Hughes have been participating every morning in Pettitte’s “starter’s program for stamina” to get them ready for the physical rigors of pitching every few days.

Fantasy-wise, it appears that Ian Kennedy is slated to start fifth right now behind Wang, Pettitte, Hughes, and Mussina, assuming that Chamberlain starts in the bullpen like everyone says. If that remains the case you can expect some pretty solid numbers from Kennedy with the massive run support the Yank’s bats will provide (i.e. Wins). If you’re worried about Kennedy getting bumped from the rotation if Chamberlain moves into that role mid-season, I wouldn’t be. At this point, aging Mike Mussina (who allowed 5 runs on 6 hits in 2 IP yesterday) would probably be the first to go.

Was watching Baseball Tonight yesterday (how happy are you that it’s back?), and they had Joba Chamberlain on for a portion of it.  It seems a bit odd that a prospect would get a 10 minute session of the season’s inaugural BT episode, but that’s the sensation that ‘In Joba We Trust’ has become.  A few brief notes from the interview:

Chamberlain is excited about starting in the pen, and doesn’t seem in any way perturbed that he’s not in the rotation.  He said there is no timetable that he’s aware of for him to join the rotation.  He also notes that Joe Girardi is whipping everyone into shape in a spring training players are referring to as boot camp.  Joba also brought a needy family to Disney World with him; I think I counted 3 ‘A Bug’s Life’ jokes from the BT team in reference to the gnats now of post-season lore.

John Kruk and Eric Young think the Yankees should keep Joba as a setup man this season to prepare him to take over the closer role from Rivera.  Meanwhile Steve Phillips thinks his arm is too valuable to keep in the bullpen.  He thinks both Joba and Philip Hughes should start the season in the rotation.  While I understand the benefit of shortening the game by having a near automatic 8th and 9th with Joba and Rivera, I tend to agree with Phillips on this one; he’s just too good a talent to keep in the bullpen.  Chamberlain also mentioned in the interview that he will be adding a new pitch to his repertoire this season.  Perhaps a knuckler?

“Best athlete in the organization.” That’s how the legendary Yankee Reggie Jackson described OF prospect Austin Jackson after he made a shoelace catch in Saturday’s game. This according to Tyler Kepner of The New York Times. Despite his lofty compliments, Reggie thinks that we won’t see Austin Jackson in the Bronx until 2010. Still, this is an incredibly gifted athlete, and someone worth watching.

• The Rockies 3B prospect, Ian Stewart, continues to struggle a bit with the transition to 2B. He’ll need to figure this transition out if he plans to make it in Denver any time soon; Atkins has 3B nailed down for the foreseeable future, as does Tulo at SS.
• Great article in the Rocky Mountain News about Dexter Fowler, an early round talent who dropped to the Rox in the 14th round due to signability concerns. He continues to have a great Spring.
• Max Scherzer, The DBacks top draft pick in 2007, pitched two innings today and gave up a monster bomb to Joe Crede. But, it was the only hit he gave up.
• In discussing Rick Porcello’s successful outing yesterday, BA’s John Manuel mentioned that of Porcello, Andrew Brackman, and David Price, the Yankees’ Brackman has the best stuff. Of course Brackman is out this year recovering from TJ surgery.
• The Pirates were impressed with their top prospect’s performance in today’s game. Andrew McCutchen went 2 for 4 with an RBI double and 2 runs scored.
• Mariners’ OF prospect Wladimir Balentien had quite a game today. He hit 2 HR with 3 RBI. In the same game, Padres 3B/OF prospect Chase Headley hit a 2-run HR with 4 RBI.

First there was Bennifer. Then Brangelina. And now? Jobaphilian. Don’t worry, we didn’t come up with the nickname (we wouldn’t do that to you), we’re just reporting it. Jobaphilian, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, is the young Yankees pitching triumvirate of Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, and Ian Kennedy. While every baseball fan in America is no doubt hoping that the nickname won’t be successful, chances are the trio will. All are expected to play major roles this year, and their ability to carry the Yankees through the post-season will most likely be the deciding factor on whether the team brings home another championship. No one is more aware of this fact then GM Brian Cashman:

“Obviously, each of these individuals are symbols of what our hope is for the future,” [said Cashman.] “We’re certainly counting on a lot and asking a lot from Joba, Phil and Ian. I also think they know that.”

“This isn’t sneaking up on them. They’re on their journey, and their careers are under way.”

If you’re looking to own part or all of the three-headed Bronx monster come fantasy draft day, expect 140 or so innings from Joba (who will start in a setup role) with a low ERA and high K/IP, and some top 100 numbers from Hughes and Kennedy.

If he can continue to produce on the farm, New York Yankees OF Austin Jackson feels he can be ready for major league action by 2009.  Ranked the #41 prospect by Baseball America, the speedy Texas-native could definitely create waves in the veteran Yankee outfield.  After hitting .345 with 15 2B and 10 HR in low-A ball in the Florida State League, he was promoted to AA-Trenton, where he will most likely start the 2008 season.  As of right now, there is no need to worry about him for fantasy purposes.