Tigers 6, Indians 0: Armando Galarraga Strikes Again
August 21, 2010Browns vs. Rams – Open Thread
August 21, 2010
Right-handed pitcher Zach McAllister is the newest member of the Indians organization after being acquired as a player-to-be-named-later from the New York Yankees. The 6’5″ starter completes last month’s Austin Kearns trade and he began the year as the fifth-best Yankees prospect. He still has upper-level potential despite a rough 2010 season in the Triple-A International League.
He will turn 23 years old in December and is 8-10 with a 5.09 ERA for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre so far this season. McAllister should immediately transition to the Columbus Clippers rotation and is highly regarded because of of his youth and previous dominance. He was 7-5 with an League-leading 2.23 ERA for Double-A Trenton in 2009, winning NY Yankees Minor League Pitcher of the Year honors.
For the Indians, completing this trade adds yet another high-level pitching prospect to the fold, a common trend over the past year. It certainly won’t hurt to have his name in a competition with Jeanmar Gomez and Josh Tomlin among others while one other top young prospect stuck out Friday night in Lake County.
Jason Knapp, one of the key parts of last summer’s Cliff Lee trade with Philadelphia, delivered four no-hit innings with the Captains yesterday. It was his first starter in a full-season league this year amidst his recovery from off-season shoulder surgery. He already made five starts in the rookie-level Arizona League and now has a 1.10 ERA in 16.1 innings.
At only 19 years old, the 6’6″ Knapp has the highest upside of any pitcher in the Indians system. The surgery knocked him back slightly but he still should have the ability to spend the entirety of the 2011 season with Class A Kinston of the Carolina League. That means he could make his Double-A debut by late next year and potentially be in Cleveland in late 2012 in the very best case scenario.
Going back to McAllister and all the pitchers in the organization, the Indians are definitely in a pretty good position for the next few years. While this Yankees blog believes their prospects made the soon-to-be Rule 5 eligible McAllister expendable, the Tribe picked up on the opportunity to add another solid arm. His size and youth definitely give him a higher ceiling than Josh Tomlin but the names keep adding up in the system.
From Carlos Carrasco (Lee trade) to Alex White (’09 1st round) to Scott Barnes (Garko trade) to Corey Kluber (Westbrook trade) and to Joe Gardner (’09 2nd round), the organization has added a bunch of high profiled arms over the past year. All they truly need is for just a few to develop into top-tier MLB starters for all of these moves to be worth it over the long run.
(Photo of Zach McAllister via Mike Ashmore/Hunterdon County Democrat)
