Prospects thriving as winter leagues get underway
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The playoffs and Arizona Fall League may garner the bulk of the attention this time of year, but there's plenty of baseball being played elsewhere.
The Liga de Beisbol Profesional de la Republica Dominicana, also known as the Dominican Republic Winter League, as well as some other offseason winter leagues have begun and some of the best prospects in baseball are showing why they are so highly regarded.
White Sox top prospectEloy Jiménez (MLB No. 4) is off to a fast start for Gigantes del Cibao, hitting .529 with a homer, five RBIs and a 1.467 OPS through four games.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (MLB No. 3) is also raking in the early going, hitting .313 with two RBIs and a .911 OPS.
The Blue Jays' No. 1 prospect also seems to be thoroughly enjoying his stint in the Dominican Republic, as evidenced by his enthusiastic celebration following a triple in a game last week.
In addition to Guerrero and Jimenez, Fernando Tatis Jr. (Padres No. 4, MLB No. 51) is showing well, with a 1.021 OPS in the early goings.
In fact, six of the top 10 players in OPS appear on team Top 30 lists with José Marmolejos (Nationals' No. 19), Socrates Brito (D-backs' No. 10) and Franchy Cordero (Padres' No. 12) joining the trio of Top 100 prospects.
Liga Mexicana del Pacifico and Liga Venezuela Beisbol Professional are also underway, while Liga de Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rico Winter League) will have its typical late-October start pushed back to January due to Hurricane Maria.