No joke, this is how my day opened. I woke up (amazing!), went for my usual run, came home and begin my usual shizz, shower, and shave routine. The thing is, during the first part of my usual triple S routine, I was checking my email. BTW more emails get checked on the throne than anywhere else in the world. In fact if you don’t bring your phone into the hopper, you’re a sociopath. Simple and plain. Anywho, I check my email and am greeted by this beaut.
“This morning we received a report that an individual wearing a clown costume was seen on a school campus in Your Random Massachusetts town. All schools were alerted and schools responded consistent with safe school readiness practices. Our police investigated and have reported that this is confirmed to be hoax. I appreciate the quick response by our schools and police. Thank you.”
Wait, so we’re dressing as clowns now, or doing clown hoaxes? Da fudge? Pranksters, it’s like I don’t even know you anymore. While our parents are worried about millennials twerking and snapchatting, I’m freaked out by their affinity for incest porn, and clown related happenings !?!? I’m not sure what to call all this clowning around. Pun point! Hit me brass section! Oh yeah, did you want to talk about baseball? I mean, I can do that if you wish. Today we’re going to continue my stop by stop tour of the leagues of the lower minors, and dig into the Midwest league. This particular A ball circuit, may in fact have the most star power of any league we’ve profiled so far. Playing home to several jewels of the Brewers, Cardinals, and Cubs systems. Now that we’ve talked clowns, my personal life, and weird millennial fetishes, let’s talk some A Ball, and Eloy Jimenez.
Midwest League
Jordan Yamamoto, RHP Brewers: I’ve written about Yamamoto a few times this year, including my first Mining The Numbers post, and my final Minor League Update of the year. Here’s my scouting notes from his most recent mention, “he mixes a a mid 90’s fastball, with a plus slider, and an average curveball to generate swings and misses. He also induces groundballs at a near 50% rate.” He’s a smallish righty so there’s some bullpen risk, but the K/9 of 10.18 and the extreme groundball rate make him very interesting as a dynasty prospect.
Isan Diaz, 2B/SS Brewers: Diaz’s overall numbers for 2016 look solid, but what you can’t see is the strides he made as a hitter in the second half. From June 1st on he slashed .292/.393/.556 with 17 homers and 8 steals. This second half production jump, makes him an easy top 20 fantasy prospect in my eyes, let’s see where he ranks on others lists. He has some swing and miss to his game as he strikes out around 25% of the time, but it’s not out of control though, and his walk rate in the low teens is phenomenal. Dollars for doughnuts, marble crullers, and maple bars, Diaz is one of the players you should be trading for in dynasty leagues.
Eloy Jimenez, OF Cubs: By far the most popular and most highly regarded prospect in this Midwestern party. I’m not sure what a Midwestern party consists of, but I’m willing to bet the grub would be banging. So grab a couple of baby backs and let’s talk Eloy. He finished third in the Midwest batting title, smacked a homer in The Future’s Game, and got on a first name basis with baseball fans in the know. He brings hit tool, power, and a little speed. The next possible stud prospect to come out of the Cubbies system.
Magneuris Sierra, OF Cardinals: The 20 year old outfielder isn’t the type of prospect I go gaga for, but if could add 10-15 homer pop he’s got the speed and contact to be a 90-100 run, 30 steal guy. He hit .307 with 31 steals, in 562 plate appearances. The power is really a downer though, only 3 homers and a .088 ISO. A potential future rookie nookie SAGNOF force in the making, though best case scenario he’s years away.
Eddy Martinez, OF Cubs: I went from not believing Eddy Martinez actually existed to being one of his bigger defenders. In his first year of North American ball Martinez was solid but inconsistent. He slashed .254/.331/.380 with 10 homers and 8 steals. He’s still only 21 and pretty raw, but he’s an exciting prospect if he can develop a little more game power and refine his tools. I’m willing to accept the middling production this season, and chalk it up as an adjustment period. The all around skillset, and advanced approach are evident, 2017 will be a true “put up or shut up” season for Eddy Mart.
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