Read More: gerrit cole, 2011 nmlb draft, New York Yankees

The New York Yankees will not select until 51st overall when the 2011 MLB Draft begins Monday night. The Yankees have no first-round pick, having lost it to the Tampa Bay Rays when they signed free-agent reliever Rafael Soriano. The Yankees also lost the 44th pick for signing free-agent reliever Pedro Feliciano. The 51st pick, a ‘sandwich’ selection, is compensation for the Florida Marlins signing Javier Vazquez as a free agent.

As the draft approaches the Yankees will be looking to supplement an already strong minor-league system. In his pre-season ranking of minor-league system, Frankie Piliere of AOL Fanhouse ranked the Yankee system fourth among all 30 teams.

It’s been awhile since the Yankees could legitimately claim to have one of baseball’s best farm systems. This year they are undoubtedly part of that group. Jesus Montero is the best catching prospect in the game, and their collection of young arms — headlined by Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances and Andrew Brackman — stacks up with any in baseball. There is more coming from the lower levels.

The Yankees are flush with catching prospects like Montero, Austin Romine, Gary Sanchez and J.R. Murphy. They have pitching, led by Manuel Banuelos, Dellin Betances and Andrew Brackman.

What the Yankees do not have a lot of is positional talent at places other than catcher. They took high school outfielder Slade Heathcott No. 1 in 2009 and high school shortstop Cito Culver a year ago.

General manager Brian Cashman recently called draft day “the most important day of the year.” That, of course, is a statement the Yankees would not have made a few years ago.

“We’re going to have to sit out and wait for a little while,” Cashman said. “But it’s a deep enough Draft where I know Damon [Oppenheimer, vice president of amateur scouting] feels like we’re still going to get access to some quality players.”

Recent Yankee No. 1 Picks

• 2010 — Cito Culver, SS (Class A Staten Island)
• 2009 — Slade Heathcott, OF (Class A, Charleston)
• 2008 — Gerrit Cole, RHP (Did not sign)
• 2007 — Andrew Brackman, RHP (Class AAA, Scranton-Wilkes Barre)
• 2006 — Ian Kennedy, RHP (Arizona Diamondbacks)

The Pittsburgh Pirates are expected to use the first pick in the draft on Cole, who went to UCLA in 2008 rather than sign with the Yankees. The first round and supplemental round will be held tonight, with the remainder of the draft split between Tuesday and Wednesday. Live coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET at MLB.com and MLB Network.

By Ed Valentine

– Regional Editor

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May 10, 2011 – The New York Yankees see old friend and former Yankee outfielder Melky Cabrera Tuesday night when the Kansas city Royals come to Yankee Stadium to begin a three-game series. This will mark the first time the popular ex-Yankee has faced his old team since being traded to Atlanta for Javier Vazquez following the 2009 season.

You can certainly argue that neither the Yankees nor the Braves were thrilled with what they got in the deal. Cabrera hit just .255 for Atlanta with four home runs and 42 RBI in 2010, then was let go and signed as a free agent with Kansas City. Cabrera spent the first five years of his career with the Yankees.

The Yankees did not get anything from Vazquez, either, as he went 10-10 with a 5.32 ERA and signed with the Florida Marlins as a free agent in the off-season. The Yankees made no effort to keep him.

The Yankees enter tonight just percentage points ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays for the top spot in the American League. Freddy Garcia pitches for the Yankees and Kyle Davies for Kansas City.

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Read More: Melky Cabrera (CF – KAN), New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals at New York Yankees, May 10, 2011 7:05 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — An unusual thing happened to the New York Yankees this winter: They lost.

Sure, the billion-dollar franchise occasionally loses in the postseason. What the Yankees never do is fail in the offseason.

That is until now.

After being beaten by Cliff Lee and the younger, more hungry-looking Texas Rangers in the American League championship series, the Yankees lost out on Lee, this year’s most coveted free agent. They lost in the public eye during Derek Jeter’s contract negotiations and, most importantly, the Yankees lost to the rival Boston Red Sox in offseason moves.

Then, right before training camp opened, rotation stalwart Andy Pettitte retired — leaving the Core Four a tiring trio.

“Every year’s separate, every year’s a challenge,” Jeter said. “There’s nothing more this year as opposed to any other year.”

Despite the Captain’s ever-positive outlook, the Yankees have sounded more like a bickering franchise on the decline than the powerhouse of the AL East.

What should be a feel-good season celebrating Jeter as he becomes the first player in a Yankees uniform to reach 3,000 hits — he’s 74 away — got off to a rough start when General Manager Brian Cashman took several shots in the tabloids at the shortstop during surprisingly contentious contract negotiations.

Cashman also uncharacteristically exclaimed publicly he was against giving AL saves leader Rafael Soriano a $35 million, three-year contract — and forfeiting a first-round draft pick to the right-hander’s former team, the Tampa bay Rays — to be Mariano Rivera’s setup man in the one big free-agent move by the Yankees.

And heading into New York’s first full season without George Steinbrenner looming over every aspect of the organization, Hank Steinbrenner proved he has the same bluster as his dad but little of the bite. Jeter laughed off Hank’s comments in the first week of spring training about unnamed players building mansions instead of focusing on winning last year. Jeter just completed a 30,000 square foot house in Tampa, Fla., called “St. Jetersburg” by the locals.

“There’s always things said around here, there’s always stories,” Jeter said.

The negativity could carry over to the regular season if the Yankees don’t perform on the field where there are significant questions for the ballclub that accepts nothing less than a World Series championship.

The most glaring problems lie in the shaky pitching staff.

Coming off a season in which A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez were dreadful, the Yankees went hard after Lee, who has dominated them the past two postseasons. He chose the Phillies.

The last time such a high profile player spurned New York’s very public pitch was before the 1993 season, when Greg Maddux chose the Braves over Broadway.

With Pettitte announcing his retirement two weeks before training camp opened, the Yankees — and new pitching coach Larry Rothschild — were left with a three-man rotation and only one sure thing heading into camp: CC Sabathia (21-7, 3.18 ERA).

Burnett, the No. 2 starter, bombed last season, going 10-15 with a 5.26 ERA and a league-leading 19 hit batters, 16 wild pitches, two cut hands thanks to an angry clubhouse outburst after a poor start and one mysterious black eye. The $82.5 million pitcher was skipped over in the AL division playoffs.

Phil Hughes was a bright spot winning 18 games and an All-Star selection in his first full season as a starter. But the 24-year-old faded after the break: 7-6 with one victory in relief.

One side effect from not winning the Lee sweepstakes and Pettitte’s departure: New York will open the season with a payroll less than $200 million for the first time since 2007.

Too late to secure another topflight free agent, Cashman went cheap, bringing in aging All-Stars Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon to compete with youngster Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre for the final two spots in the rotation.