There are always a few surprises on the list of players that wind up on the Rule 5 block.
In the Yankees camp reliever George Kontos path to the majors has been a rocky one.
But his exclusion from the 40-man roster seemed less obvious, despite his poor AFL performance. He showed a ton of promise and a return to health in 2010, splitting time between Single, Double, and Triple-A.
At Double-A Trenton, Kontos was focused on getting his fastball velocity before being assigned to Triple-A Scranton. He showed the most improvement with the Trenton Thunder, finishing with a 3.38 ERA in 32 innings of work. His recovery from Tommy John surgery appeared on the right track.
The Yankees invested four years in Kontos development. Sending him to Fall League signaled he still had their confidence. But if they had him on a timetable, his poor AFL performance may have been his final out.
The Yankees bullpen also had an up and down season. One can only wonder what he might have done if he'd gotten the call late in the season. Had the Yankees felt he was truly ready when they needed another arm in the second half, they likely would have brought him up.
Kontos regular season results don't lie. He made a lot of progress between Tampa and Trenton. He got the job done when the Thunder were battling for a playoffs spot.
At just 25, Kontos is a pitcher with great potential. If another team envisions a new plan of action for him, perhaps returning him to a starting role, he could thrive as once expected.