INF Andy Cannizaro, 28, batted .276 (115-for-416) with three home runs and 32 RBI in 116 games with Triple-A Columbus in 2006. He led all Columbus hitters with a .361 batting average vs. left-handed pitchers and led the team with 32 doubles. Cannizaro made his Major League debut with the Yankees on September 5, 2006 at Kansas City and appeared in a total of 13 Major League games, batting .250 (2-for-8) with one home run and one RBI. He was selected by the Yankees in the seventh round of the 2001 First-Year Player Draft.
C Francisco Cervelli, 20, batted .309 (42-for-136) in 42 games with the Class-A Staten Island Yankees in 2006. He was named to the American League team for the NY-Penn League All-Star Game and helped lead the team to their second consecutive NY-Penn League Championship. The Venezuela native was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on March 1, 2003.
INF Angel Chavez, 25, split time between three different teams in two different Major League organizations in 2006. He batted .255 in 63 games with Double-A Reading (Phillies) and batted .276 in 60 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before being traded to the Baltimore Orioles on August 30. In four games with Double-A Bowie (Orioles), he batted .267 (4-for-15). A native of Panama, Chavez made his Major League debut with the San Francisco Giants in 2005, going 5-for-19 (.263) in 10 games played.
C Raul Chavez, 33, spent most of the season with Double-A Bowie (Orioles), batting .255 (50-for-196) with two home runs and 21 RBI in 52 games. He made three stints with Baltimore in 2006, appearing in 16 games and batting .179 (5-for-28). Originally signed by the Houston Astros as a non-drafted free agent in 1990, Chavez has appeared in 170 Major League games during his career with four different teams (Montreal Expos, 1996-'97; Seattle Mariners, 1998; Houston Astros, 2000-'05 and Baltimore, 2006).
RHP Tyler Clippard, 21, led all Yankees' minor-leaguers with 175 strikeouts while posting a 12-10 record with a 3.35 ERA in 28 starts with Double-A Trenton in 2006. He was named E.L. "Pitcher of the Week" three times in 2006, marking the first time a Trenton player has ever won the honor more than twice in a single season. On August 17, 2006, Clippard became the first Trenton pitcher in the 13-year history of the franchise to toss a no-hitter in a 9-0 win vs. Harrisburg. Ranked by Baseball American as the seventh-best prospect in the Yankees' organization, Clippard was selected by the Yankees in the ninth round of the 2003 First-Year Player Draft.
C Ben Davis, 29, was signed to a minor-league contract prior to the 2006 season and appeared in three games with the Yankees during Spring Training. He missed the first two months of the season while on the disabled list recovering from elbow surgery that he underwent in 2005. Once reinstated, he played in four games with Class-A Tampa before returning to action with Triple-A Columbus. In 48 games with the Clippers, he batted .222 (36-for-162) with four home runs and 20 RBI. Originally drafted by the San Diego Padres in 1995, Davis has played in 486 Major League games and owns a .237 career average.
INF Eric Duncan, 22, split time between Triple-A Columbus and Double-A Trenton in 2006. He began the season with the Clippers and batted .209 (23-for-110) in 31 games before being transferred to Trenton. In 57 games with the Thunder, he batted .248 (51-for-206) with 10 home runs and 29 RBI before being placed on the disabled list with a back strain. After coming off the disabled list, Duncan played in 26 games with the Peoria Saguaros in the 2006 Arizona Fall League, batting .257 with two home runs and 18 RBI.
OF Brett Gardner, 23, ranked second among all Yankees' minor-leaguers with a combined .298 batting average and 58 stolen bases in 2006. He began the 2006 season with Class-A Tampa and was selected to participate in the Florida State League All-Star Game after batting .323 with 30 stolen bases in 63 games. He was promoted to Double-A Trenton in June and batted .272 with 28 stolen bases in 55 games with the Thunder. In December, Baseball American named Gardner the 10th-best prospect in the Yankees' organization as well as the "Fastest Baserunner" and the player with the "Best Strike-Zone Discipline." He was the Yankees' third-round selection in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft out of the College of Charleston.
RHP Phil Hughes, 20, was named the Yankees' "Top Prospect" by Baseball American for the second consecutive year after posting a combined 12-6 record with a 2.16 ERA and 168 strikeouts in 26 starts with Class-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton in 2006. He began the season with Tampa and was 2-3 with a 1.80 ERA in five starts before being promoted to Trenton in May. In 21 starts with the Thunder, Hughes posted a 10-3 record with a league-best 2.25 ERA and 138 strikeouts in 116.0 innings of work. He won his final eight decisions of the season and was named to the United States Team for the 2006 "Futures" All-Star Game in Pittsburgh. Hughes was the Yankees' number one selection in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft out of Foothill H.S. in Santa Ana, California.
RHP Steven Jackson, 24, posted an 8-11 record with a 2.65 ERA in 24 starts with Double-A Tennessee in 2006 (149.2IP, 131H, 52R, 44ER, 45BB, 125K). He ranked second among all Southern League pitchers with his 2.65 ERA and he limited right-handed batters to a .204 batting average (68-for-333). Originally drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2004, Jackson was acquired by the Yankees from Arizona along with right-handed pitchers Ross Ohlendorf and Luis Vizcaino and infielder Alberto Gonzalez in exchange for Randy Johnson on January 9.
LHP Ben Kozlowski, 26, began the 2006 season with Triple-A Louisville (Reds) and was 0-2 in seven appearances before being transferred to Double-A Chattanooga. In 10 games with Chattanooga, he was 2-1 with a 1.17 ERA before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 1. In 23 games (seven starts) with Double-A Jacksonville, Kozlowski was 1-2 with a 2.85 ERA. He made one start with Triple-A Las Vegas and suffered the loss at Colorado Springs on August 31. Originally selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 12th round of the 1999 First-Year Player Draft, Kozlowski made his Major League debut and appeared in two games with the Texas Rangers in 2002. He was signed by the Yankees to a one-year minor league contract on November 2, 2006.
INF Ramiro Pena, 21, will be making his second consecutive appearance in Spring Training with the Yankees in 2007. He endured an injury-plagued season in 2006, batting a combined .257 (78-for-304) in 80 games with Class-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton despite three stints on the disabled list. A native of Monterrey, Mexico, Pena was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on February 18, 2005.
RHP Ross Ohlendorf, 24, was acquired by the Yankees from the Arizona Diamondbacks as part of the trade for Randy Johnson on January 9. He spent most of the 2006 season with Double-A Tennessee, going 10-8 with a 3.29 ERA in 27 starts. He led all Southern League pitchers with four complete games, ranked second in innings pitched and shutouts (two), ranked fourth in wins and fifth in games started. Selected by the Diamondbacks in the fourth round of the 2004 First-Year Player Draft out of Princeton University, Ohlendorf was chosen by Baseball American as one of the Northwest League's Top Prospects in 2004 and was named to the Midwest League All-Star Team in 2005.
C Peter Pilittere, 25, batted .302 (88-for-291) with five home runs and 38 RBI in 87 games with Class-A Tampa in 2006. He led all Florida State League catchers with a .998 fielding percentage and committed just one error in 587 total chances. In 12 games with the Peoria Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League, Pilittere batted .394 (13-for-33) with eight RBI in 2006. Originally selected in the 13th round of the 2004 First-Year Player Draft, he was named team captain at Cal State Fullerton and helped lead his team to the College World Series in 2004.
C Todd Pratt, 39, batted .207 (28-for-135) with four home runs and 19 RBI in 65 games with the Atlanta Braves in 2006. He has appeared in 662 career games since making his Major League debut with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1992 and owns a .251 career batting average and a .993 fielding percentage as a catcher.
C Omir Santos, 25, appeared in 101 games with Double-A Trenton in 2006, batting .269 (87-for-324) with four home runs and 38 RBI and leading all Eastern League catchers with a .996 fielding percentage. Since making his professional debut with Class-A Staten Island in 2001, Santos has played 516 games and owns a .259 career batting average. This will be his third consecutive Spring Training appearance with the Yankees.
OF Jose Tabata, 18, batted .298 (95-for-319) in 86 games with Class-A Charleston in 2006, earning a nomination to the South Atlantic League All-Star team in his sophomore campaign. He began the season by batting .356 (32-for-90) during the month of April and was batting .340 (33-for-97) with runners in scoring position before ending his season early with a left thumb injury. He played in 18 games and posted a .288 batting average with Caribe in the Venezuelan Winter League. Named the second-best prospect in the Yankees' organization by Baseball American, Tabata was selected to participate in the 2006 "Futures" All-Star Game in Pittsburgh.
INF Marcos Vechionacci, 20, batted a combined .235 (118-for-503) in 134 games with Class-A Charleston and Tampa in 2006. In 12 games with Navegentes of the Venezuelan Winter League, he batted .292 (7-for-24) with one home run and five RBI. Previously ranked among the Yankees' Top-10 prospects by Baseball American, Vechionacci was recently lauded by the magazine as having the "Best Infield Arm" in the Yankees' player development system. Originally from Valencia, Venezuela, he was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on August 26, 2002. This will be his second Spring Training appearance with the Yankees.
RHP Kevin Whelan, 23, ranked third among all Detroit Tigers' minor-league pitchers with 27 saves in 2006, going 4-1 with a 2.67 ERA in 51 games for the Class-A Lakeland Tigers. He limited opposing hitters to a .178 batting average (33-for-185) and held right-handed hitters to a .158 average (18-for-114). In addition to being named a top prospect in the NY-Penn League following the 2005 season, Whelan also ranked as the 10th-best prospect in the entire Tigers' organization according to Baseball American. Originally selected by the Tigers in the fourth round of the 2005 draft out of Texas A&M University, he was acquired by the Yankees on November 10, 2006 as part of the trade for outfielder Gary Sheffield. RHP Steven White, 25, started 28 games in 2006, posting an 8-10 record a combined 3.70 ERA in a season split between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Columbus. He began the season with Trenton, going 4-1 with a 2.11 ERA and holding opposing hitters to a .217 batting average in 11 outings before being promoted to Columbus in June. In 17 starts with the Clippers, White went 4-9 with a 4.71 ERA. Originally selected by the Yankees in the fourth round of the 2003 First-Year Player Draft out of Baylor University, White was previously ranked among the Yankees' best prospects by Baseball American.
