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Thursday, December 28, 2006

No. 15 - Darrell Rasner, RHP, 25

Darrell Rasner, RHP, 25
Previously Ranked: 20^th prior to 2006
What Others Say: Pinstripes Plus N/R, Baseball America N/A, John Sickels 12^th (C)

Physical Ability: Darrell Rasner is a 6’3’’ 210 pound right-handed pitcher. Rasner arrived in the Yankee organization as a gift from Jim Bowden. Since being drafted, Rasner’s velocity has declined and he currently works around 88-90 with the fastball. Rasner is able to keep his fastball low and generate his fair share of groundballs. In addition, while his overall repertoire can be described as mediocre, Rasner has the makings of a solid curveball. Unfortunately, he rolls the pitch more often than you would like, resulting in hard hit line drives and fly ball.

<-[endif]-->What Happened in ‘06: Rasner began the year with Columbus and had a pretty ERA. His peripherals indicate that he was a bit lucky in this regard, but nevertheless he was able to work in some MLB time as a result of that performance. Unfortunately, immediately after he was first called up he got injured. After his second call-up, Jeff Karstens caught fire and got the bulk of the swingman innings, limiting Rasner’s major league exposure.

What Lies Ahead: Rasner is a virtual lock to begin 2007 back in AAA. There he will serve as part of the Injured Reserveâ„¢ alongside Humberto Sanchez, Phil Hughes, Tyler Clippard, Jeff Karstens, and Steve White. Of the sextet, Rasner seems to best combine readiness and stuff. If called upon, expecting anything more than roughly league average pitching may be wishful thinking.

Grade: Rasner does not have much of a ceiling. If everything works out, you are most likely looking at a back of the rotation starter. That may seem negative, but the positive is that he is ready to contribute that type of production right now. In addition, if an organization is looking for someone to step in and immediately give them innings, Rasner is the type of guy you offer in a trade. Rasner is a poor man with an extra penny’s Jeff Karstens. C

Jeff Karstens 15