This will be a Friday publishing of great minor leaguers to invest in. Information will be drawn from BA's weekly Prospect Hot Sheet.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/prospect-hot-sheet-sept-1
Triston McKenzie, RHP, Indians (20)
High Class A Lynchburg
Known mostly for his slight build, McKenzie now will be known as the minor leagues' strikeout king for 2017. He had two starts this week that put him over the top, with 21 whiffs in just 13 innings. The pair of double-digit strikeout outings gave him six such efforts for the season, and pushed his strikeouts per nine ratio to 11.7. He's also shown excellent durability with his slender 6-foot-5, 165-pound frame, making all 25 starts and pitching seven innings in five of his past 10 starts.
Monogrande's Take
What people might not immediately recognize about TMac is that he's about as tall as Kershaw. If he fills in to that height with some additional muscle weight, the comparison to Kersh might not end at the height. I expect him to be the superstar pitcher that the Indians need next to Corey Kluber, and he can be in the majors as early as next year.
Eloy Jimenez, OF, White Sox (20)
Double-A Birmingham
Remember that time Jimenez missed early with a shoulder bruise? Yeah, me neither. Remember when Jimenez was still in A-ball? Seems like a long time ago. The White Sox have promoted Jimenez, the key to the Jose Quintana trade, to Double-A even though the Barons are 30 games under .500. Jimenez has shrugged off the struggles with three three-hit games this week while adding a pair of home runs. On the season, he's up to 19 homers and a .314/.379/.578 slash line.
Monogrande's Take
Eloy is looking a lot like Jorge Soler, which might be a good thing in the minors but definitely not for the majors. Still, he has the super-rare five-tool player build with a versatile defense. The Cubs better win the World Series with Quintana, because otherwise this might be a hard loss for the Cubs to think about down the line.
9. Dermis Garcia, 3B, Yankees (19)
Charleston RiverDogs
Charleston's Joseph P. Riley Park is no place for a power hitter, with a long history as a pitcher's park, but the 19 year-old third baseman slugged three homers this week, including game winners Wednesday and Thursday night. The last one was a three-run go-ahead shot in the eighth inning of a 10-5 win that clinched the second-half crown in the SAL's South Division for the RiverDogs. It also was Dermis' 17th in 215 at-bats between Rookie-level Pulaski and Charleston.
Monogrande's Take
Dermis is the 3rd baseman of the future that the Yankees thought Eric Jagielo would be in the 2013 draft. He's a speedy player that really has an eye on defense. The first few years has been a rough tumble for Dermis, but it looks like he's figuring it out now. Oh, and that 2013 draft? They really did fail by picking Jagielo in the first round, but don't worry. They picked Aaron Judge in the later round.
That's it! I hope you enjoyed this series! It's the final one! I might do some Arizona Fall League writes ups, but all those guys that I reviewed in the prospectus should have a bright future in the majors soon!
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