While 2007 may not be a banner year for the New York Yankees, the future looks extremely bright, especially when it comes to pitching.

Thanks to General Manager Brian Cashman’s recent emphasis on developing—and keeping—their gifted young pitchers, as well as Damon Oppenheimer running the draft and Mark Newman overseeing the farm system, the Yankees now find themselves with a cadre of talented young arms.

In particular, the rotation of the Trenton Thunder, the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate, has been garnering much attention for the performances of their six starters—the Thunder as a team have the lowest ERA of any full-season minor league team.

No one in the bunch has received more buzz than Joba Chamberlain, a member of the Winnebago Tribe who was drafted in the supplemental first round in 2006 out of the University of Nebraska and has only been pitching for a mere four years (he used to be a catcher).

Chamberlain, who participated in the 2007 All-Star Futures Game, is fast rising to Phil Hughes status potential-wise among scouts and the Yankee faithful. After making his Single-A Advanced debut with Tampa on May 8—the right-hander was sidelined at the beginning of the season with a hamstring injury—Chamberlain quickly impressed the Yankees enough to earn a call-up to Double-A Trenton on June 20.

During the stint in Tampa, Chamberlain compiled a 4-0 record with a 2.03 ERA. Since joining the talented plethora of pitchers in Trenton, he is 8-1 with a 2.05 ERA overall, with 108 strikeouts and only 23 walks on the season.

The power-throwing right-hander has drawn comparisons to Roger Clemens because of his body structure, as well as his hard throwing and his overpowering fastball and slider. The fastball has great movement and can hit 98-99 mph, but usually sits in the 94-97 range. Even just throwing the straight fastball over the heart of the plate, Chamberlain can blow it by any hitter. The slider is downright wicked, and as a typical power pitcher, it is his strikeout pitch. Chamberlain also features an above-average curveball and a changeup, and has plus control.

The main concern with Chamberlain has been with weight and injury issues. However, he has slimmed down quite a bit, and if he can stay healthy, the sky’s the limit with his considerable talent and potential.

Another Trenton righty who isn’t as well-known but is certainly putting up impressive numbers is Alan Horne, a product out of the University of Florida. After a somewhat mediocre season with Tampa in 2006, Horne worked on his mechanics with pitching guru Nardi Contreras and his staff during the off-season, and the results have been undeniable.

Horne has a 9-3 record with a 2.34 ERA with Trenton this season to go along with 115 strikeouts, the most in the Eastern League. He greatly impressed in the fog-shortened Eastern League All-Star Game, pitching a 1-2-3 inning while striking out two. Horne throws both a two-seam and a four-seam fastball, though the two-seamer is usually his fastball of choice. The fastball, which has great late movement, sits in the 93-95 range and can hit 96-97 mph. He also features a nasty 12-6 curve and a slider with good downward tilt, along with a developing changeup.

Though scouts have been slow to recognize Horne’s talent, there’s no doubt that he has become one of the premier pitchers in minor leagues. He is also the most major-league ready of the Yankees’ young arms, having spent the entire season at Double-A while making a great case for a call-up.

Last but not least in the talented Trenton trifecta is right-hander Ian Kennedy, the Yankees’ first-round pick in 2006 out of baseball powerhouse USC. Like Chamberlain, Kennedy began the 2007 season in Tampa but soon showed that Single-A hitters were mere folly for him. With the Tampa Yankees, Kennedy posted a 6-1 record with a 1.29 ERA, while striking out a blistering 72 in 63 innings of work.

Called up to Trenton on June 6, Kennedy has had continued success in Double-A, though with a slight learning curve. He has a 5-1 record with a 2.47 ERA for Trenton over 43.2 innings, and has 51 strikeouts. While the results may not be quite as dominant as they were in Tampa, Kennedy has continued to impress with his performance.

Kennedy throws a four-seam fastball that sits in the low-90s, but can touch 94 mph. His secondary pitch is the changeup, a plus pitch that he has particularly impressive command over. He also features a curveball, a knuckle curve and a slider, though these are middling pitches for Kennedy. He recently added a two-seam fastball to his repertoire, which was shown to him by Horne. His ability to locate and command his off-speed pitches with such finesse has led to comparisons to Greg Maddux and Mike Mussina.

These three have all been added to Brian Cashman’s list of “untouchables” with the wunderkind Hughes, quite the testament to how highly-regarded each pitcher is. It certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see Chamberlain and/or Horne in the big leagues once September rolls around, but even if that doesn’t happen, look for big things for both of them in 2008.

But it doesn’t stop there. It’s not enough that the Bronx Bombers currently boast young Taiwanese ace Chien-Ming Wang and the current No. 1 prospect in all of the minor leagues, Phil Hughes, who should be rejoining the staff in the beginning of July. And it’s not enough that they also feature the likes of Chamberlain, Horne, and Kennedy in Trenton. No, the Yankees wealth of pitching continues down on into the lower ranks of the minor leagues, with such talents as Dellin Betances and Zach McAllister of the Staten Island Yankees (New York-Penn League, short-season Single-A).

“The [Yankees’] system is now one of the stronger ones in the minor leagues,” Cleveland Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro said in a recent New York Times article, “and at some point, as those players become major-league-ready, the Yankees will have the most deadly combination of depth of young talent combined with elite payroll resources at the major league level.”

Just this past weekend the Thunder featured a rotation including Kennedy, Hughes, Chamberlain and Horne. It’s a lineup that would make anyone cringe, and you could very well see that same rotation in New York by 2009. Add Wang to that list, and the batter’s box becomes a very scary place to be.

Have a question or comment for Shannon? Email her at shannonmccarthy@sportsgrumblings.com