Devaney, the overlooked prospect

Kevin T. Czerwinski at MiLB.com, writes about Michael Devaney and how he's doing in the Minors despite being heavily overlooked:

"I embrace the underdog role," he said. "I haven't really had the opportunity to experience the other side, except maybe in high school. I haven't had the opportunity to be someone with big expectations. I've always been more of an 'anything you get out of the guy is a bonus' type of player, so it will be nice to prove people wrong."

Devaney has quietly done a very nice job of proving people wrong. He went 12-5 with a 2.13 ERA in 27 games in 2006 while splitting time between Class A Advanced St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton. That was good enough to earn him the club's Organizational Pitcher of the Year Award, ahead of former top picks Mike Pelfrey and Kevin Mulvey.

Devaney fashioned a 32-inning scoreless streak while pitching in the Florida State League and was named to the circuit's East All-Star squad before getting bumped up to Binghamton. He went 4-2 with a 3.06 ERA in 11 starts for the B-Mets, improving his career mark to a robust 27-9 with a 2.77 ERA.

"It's not necessarily a bad thing that people overlook me," Devaney said. "People don't expect a lot out of me, but I know what I can do, and whether or not I'm recognized by the media or anyone else is just a bonus. When people notice your success it's usually because you're a first-round guy.