The White Sox traded Jake Peavy to the Red Sox not long ago — perhaps you remember it. The three-team swap sent Peavy to Boston, Jose Iglesias to Detroit, and a handful of lower levels prospects to Chicago. It also sent 22-year-old outfielder, Avisail Garcia, to the Southsiders. In the aftermath of the trade, I rushed to add Garcia wherever I could, working under the assumption that Alex Rios would also be moved before the trade deadline, which would create an immediate opportunity for Avisail. Well, it took about ten days longer than I anticipated, but Rios is now playing for Texas, and Garcia is now a regular in Chicago. If you’ve been paying attention to my ramblings, you already know that I’m a big fan of Avisail. He has the tools to help across the board in the fantasy game, and high-impact potential in HR, AVG, and RBI categories. Garcia is still a little raw, and his approach needs some refinement, but I’m thrilled to see him finally getting an opportunity to play everyday in the bigs. If you’re in need of outfield help, I absolutely endorse adding him in mixed formats.
Leury Garcia | Util, White Sox — Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn have made their rebuilding initiative clear: Garcias only. It’s a questionable strategy, but it’s gotta be better than their previous player development operation. In any case, Leury Garcia is now a White Sox thanks to the aforementioned waiver deal, which sent Alex Rios to Arlington. Leury isn’t much of a fantasy prospect, but he’s an outstanding athlete who can play any position and play it well. Plus-plus speed will bring a smidge of fantasy relevance, but for the most part, he’ll just be a fun guy to watch play real life baseball.
Javier Baez | SS, Cubs — After drawing only 7 walks in his first 21 games at Double-A, Baez has now walked 5 times in his past 10 games. Progress! It’s actually extremely encouraging news for the 20-year-old who carries big time approach concerns. Baez is hitting .378/.440/.556 with a homer and 5 stolen bases during that 10 game stretch.
Kris Bryant | 3B, Cubs — This is a Chicago-only edition of Minor Accomplishments. I’m sorry for neglecting to mention that earlier. Bryant, the 2nd overall pick this past June, is riding a 12-game hitting streak, during which he’s drilled 3 homers and hit .412/.463/.824. He’s probably ready for full-season baseball, and I truly hope to see him in Kane County before this year is through.
Lewis Thorpe | LHP, Twins — Okay, I ran out of Chicago prospects to talk about, so we’re scrapping that concept. Anyway… Lewis Thorpe is a 17-year-old lefty from Australia, and his recent performance in the Gulf Coast League is generating plenty of buzz throughout the industry. His last three outings: 12 IP, 9 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 15 K.
Carlos Correa | SS, Astros — The #1 overall pick in 2012 keeps getting better and better. Correa is hitting .459/.524/.703 through his last 10 games at Low-A Quad Cities, putting his YTD line at .331/.413/.485. He appears likely to finish his season at High-A.
Ketel Marte | SS, Mariners — As scorching hot as Correa has been in recent weeks, it’s surprising to consider that he’s not even the hottest hitting shortstop in the Midwest League at the moment. No, that title belongs to Ketel Marte, a 19-year-old in the Mariners organization. Through his last 10 games at Low-A Clinton, Marte is hitting a ridiculous .587/.604/.761. He doesn’t have the ceiling that Correa does, but his outlook is definitely trending upward.
Jonathan Gray | RHP, Rockies — I mentioned last week that Gray was having no trouble adjusting to High-A baseball after the Rockies skipped him over a few levels. That trend continued this week, as the 21-year-old once again allowed only 2 baserunners through 5 IP, whiffing 7 along the way.
Archie Bradley | RHP, D’Backs — He’s the highest upside pitching prospect in the game (sorry, Taijuan), and he continues to dominate the upper levels. Bradley, age 21, allowed 2 runs through 7 IP while whiffing 10 and walking zero in his most recent outing. The D’Backs keep slipping further behind the streaking Dodgers in the NL West race, and I wonder how long it might be before they summon Bradley for the playoff push.
George Springer | OF, Astros — .303/.410/.597, 30 HR, 38 SB. That’s what George Springer has done this year in 113 games between Double- and Triple-A. No big deal.
