Brackman Impressing Yankees in Tampa

Been wondering what's up with Andrew Brackman? Well, the 6'10 former Pack basketball star has recently finished up with winter ball in Hawaii and is now in Spring Training with the New York Yankees. There was a very good write up in the New York Times, on where Brackman is in his development. There has also been a lot positive talk coming out of Tampa on Andrew; such as this excerpt taken from a Mark Feinnsand article in the New York Daily News:

Andrew Brackman, a 6-10 pitcher who played basketball at NC State, might be the Yankee prospect with the highest ceiling and Newman says he is “healthy and ready to go” after spending much of last year recovering from elbow surgery. Brackman showed flashes of brilliance in the Hawaiian Winter League, Newman said, and should start the season at either Tampa or Charleston.

The Yankees project Brackman to be up to the bigs by 2010, which may be a stretch since they've just revamped their pitching staff and signed a bunch of big, long contracts. Also, in front of Brackman on the prospect list is fellow 23 year old Phil Hughes, who already has major league experience but is starting this season in AAA due to the depth of the Yankees staff. However, if he can progress as fast as many think he can, Brackman will be knocking at the door of the big league rotation sooner than later. Check out what all-star 1st baseman Mark Teixeira said about Andrew after watching him pitch a few days ago:

"Brackman is going to be great," said Teixeira, who had watched the 6-foot-10 right-hander. "His delivery is very smooth, and he's right on top of you."

We are very excited to hear all the good news seeping out of Tampa these past few days and are very excited about Andrew becoming a star in the Yankee organization. We wish him the best and are doing our very best to get you an interview with Andrew in the near future.