C.J.

Henry

Henry is easily the top property here, even though the 20-year-old has hit just.237/.326/.350 in the South Atlantic League. He has plenty of long-term upside, though he could also easily become another first-round bust. He’s a few years away from making an impact even if things do work out. The other prospects are less interesting. Sanchez, 18, was hitting .264/.343/.319 for the Rookie GCL Yankees. The 20-year-old Monasterios played for the same team and had a 2.97 ERA in three starts and four relief appearances.

Henry is also an excellent prospect as a basketball player, but the Yankees should be able to get him signed. He’s a raw talent with a great deal of potential. A move to center field is a possibility.

Both players are great basketball talents as well, although Henry was still expected to play baseball. Jackson had signed to play basketball at Georgia Tech next year which is why he slipped to the eighth round. The Yankees are expected to give him about a $1 million signing bonus, a number that equates to a second-round pick.

Henry received a bonus worth a little more than $1.5 million. He’ll be assigned to the Rookie GCL Yankees.

The good news is that Henry, who was drafted by the Yankees and sent to the Phillies in the Bobby Abreu trade, is showing legitimate power. The bad is that he’s batting .199 with a 61/7 K/BB ratio in 161 at-bats and he’s playing left field most of the time now after being drafted as a shortstop. He’s still young and toolsy, but it’s pretty unlikely that he’ll ever reach the majors.

New York’s first-round pick in 2005, Henry was sent to Philadelphia in the Bobby Abreu trade. He then batted just .184 with an abysmal 139/18 K/BB ratio at low Single-A in 2007 before requesting that the Phillies release him. They did, perhaps thinking that he’d quit baseball to pursue a college basketball career, but instead he returns to the Yankees.

A year after the Yankees traded him in the Bobby Abreu deal, Henry asked the Phillies for his release, telling them he wanted to go play basketball. However, what he really wanted to do was play for the Yankees. Of course, that was never going to happen. Henry hit .222/.296/.353 in 953 minor league at-bats over four pro seasons. The Yankees missed wildly when they made him the 18th pick in the draft.

Quantity over quality. Pat Gillick may fool some fans by picking up the additional prospects, but he’s really getting just a quality shortstop prospect and a lefty specialist in return for a superstar outfielder and a decent starter. Henry, a 2005 first-round pick, hasn’t even put up decent results yet. He’s hitting .237/.326/.350 in the South Atlantic League.

Henry, a 2005 first-round pick, was hitting .172/.294/.310 in 29 at-bats for Charleston.