Ken Davidoff's baseball insider: Strasburg, White Sox and Yankees prospects

A Hot Item

If the Yankees make a trade this season, it’s most likely to be one that doesn’t require the usage of important chips like catchers Jesus Montero and Austin Romine.

Instead, the biggest piece could be Scranton/Wilkes-Barres shortstop Eduardo Nunez, who turns 23 on Tuesday and has displayed a high ceiling, while heeding the spring-training lessons from Derek Jeter.

“He’s certainly making a name for himself,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. Added Cashman: “He can do everything. Run, hit and hit for power. The guy has a chance to be an everyday player in big league.”

 In a telephone interview last week, Nunez _ who brought a .350 on-base percentage and .384 slugging percentage into the weekend _ spoke of how much he enjoyed the time he spent with Jeter in Florida.

“We have a good relationship,” Nunez said. “He talked to me a lot. He told me about the importance of concentrating on every pitch when you’re in the field.”

The presence of Jeter, very likely to re-up with the Yankees this coming winter, makes Nunez dispensable. The youngster understands that. “It’s all good for me,” Nunez said. “If I keep playing hard, something will happen.”

Said agent Tom O’Connell, the Long Island native who represents Nunez: “Eduardo is a very talented player with a tremendous work ethic.”

Strasburg’s Big Picture

Washington’s Stephen Strasburg, who will make his second big-league start today, appears to wish this was 1960, and he could pitch all day without being restricted.

Yet Strasburg’s agent Scott Boras, who attended Strasburg’s spectacular debut last Tuesday, agrees with Washington management that the 21-year-old must proceed deliberately. The plan calls for him to pitch between 100 and 110 innings in the major leagues.

 Boras represented left-hander Steve Avery, who shined with the Braves in the early 1990s. From 1991 through 1993, the seasons in which he turned 21, 22 and 23, he pitched 210 1/3 innings, then 233 2/3 and then 223 1/3. He never again surpassed the 200 mark.

 “I told Steve, ‘Now that we have this information, we can make sure we utilize it,’” Boras said. “We want these performers to be elite as long as they can.”

  Family Feud

The tensions between White Sox general manager Kenny Williams and manager Ozzie Guillen have escalated to unmanageable, a person familiar with the situation confirmed, and one of the season’s most disappointing teams has a real mess on its hands.

Williams hired Guillen to replace the fired Jerry Manuel following the 2003 season, and together they won the 2005 World Series. Lately, though, the two men have battled over myriad topics. Most recently, Guillen became extremely upset that Williams didn’t draft the manager’s son, Ozney, until the 22nd round of the amateur draft.

Williams’ concern is that owner Jerry Reinsdorf continually supports Guillen. If Williams leaves, he’ll get a GM job somewhere else. Guillen? Based on his behavior of the past year, he might not get another chance. So he has extra incentive to turn the disappointing White Sox back around.

Draft Notices

As per Major League Baseball, 797 pitchers went in the draft, compared to 765 last year. Teams selected 796 players from four-year colleges, 498 from high schools and 225 from junior colleges.

The most popular college? Auburn, which saw 11 players get drafted. California produced more players than any other state, with 278, followed by Florida (163), Texas (152), Georgia (72), Arizona and North Carolina (with 48 each).

 Question of the Week

In light of the repot here last week that MLB had added golden parachutes into its collective bargaining agreement with umpires, Bob Buscavage of Moriches pondered, “If Joe West was offered a golden parachute, I wonder if he would take longer than a Yankees-Red Sox game to decide.”