Faded Yankees prospect rises from the grave as experts begin to take notice

Reports of projectable Yankees pitching prospect Henry Lalane's downfall may have been highly exaggerated.

The power lefty with all the tools in the world succumbed to the most predictable possible curveball these past few seasons while he was supposed to be ascending: injuries. Instead of breaking out in full-season ball after tantalizing in the FCL, he instead found himself on the shelf more often than not, appearing in eight, six and seven games respectively across the past three seasons. It's hard to dream on any pitcher — even one with a 6'7" left-handed frame — if they've appeared to reach their breaking point early, and by the time this season rolled around, any Lalane hype appeared to be of the "pipe dream" variety.

A 7.04 ERA in his first 15 1/3 innings didn't help dispel the fall from grace, either. That's where Lalane sat in mid-May, which makes his positioning entering July (and approaching the trade deadline) all the more absurd to comprehend.

Lalane is now 12 appearances/11 starts into the year, seven games past the point where his worse-than-middling numbers had left him an early-season also ran.

Now? Coming off 12 strikeouts in seven scoreless frames, Baseball America just deemed him the hottest prospect in baseball. Their words. Not ours.

Henry Lalane joins Thatcher Hurd among well-timed Yankees prospect breakouts

Lalane topping the latest Hot Sheet comes as his season numbers total 37 hits in 55 1/3 innings pitched with 70 Ks and a .190 BAA. Truly, this is the prince that was promised, and this is the reason the Yankees held onto him all these years. Even in three lost seasons, the body never changed and the potential never wavered. Countless teams probably tried to swipe him as his best-case scenario seemed less and less likely. The Yankees refused to use him as a throw-in, and now he can probably be closer to a second or third piece in a deadline deal.

Same with Thatcher Hurd, whose recovery from post-draft Tommy John surgery has similarly left him cresting at the perfect time. Hurd has whiffed 41 men in 30 1/3 innings at Single-A Tampa this year, sharing a rotation with Lalane. His last game at Dunedin to face the Blue Jays' future was his best, featuring 4 2/3 frames, one hit, two walks, and 10 Ks.

Maybe Hurd and Lalane will share a rotation or bullpen in the Bronx someday. Or maybe they'll share a Ryan Jeffers trade package in a month. Either way, it's been a good month for two electric arms the Yankees waited on patiently.

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