Rockies prospect rankings: No. 29 Johendi Jiminian back on the list after strong year at Asheville

Editor's note: We've made a change with the PuRPs list this year, deciding to unveil each player individually over the course of a few weeks. To keep track of the list, keep checking our PuRPs list StoryStream.

PuRP No. 29: Johendi Jiminian (53 points, 12 ballots) | Summer 2014 Ranking: HM | High Ballot 20, Mode Ballot 28

Jiminian is a 22-year-old right-handed starting pitcher from the Dominican Republic who made his full season debut this year for Low-A Asheville.. In doing so, the Latin American bonus baby (he signed for $350k in 2009) was playing stateside against age appropriate competition. He was almost a year younger than the average South Atlantic League player but held his own.

In 151 innings spread over 28 games, Jiminian went 14-6 while posting a 3.99 ERA and a 3.59 FIP with a 1.34 WHIP. He had a reasonable 2.68 BB/9 rate, though his 7.2 K/9 was generally lower than you'd expect to see from a starting pitcher prospect with a big league future.

Here's Kiley McDaniel of FanGraphs on Jiminian:

Righty Johendi Jiminian is a projectable Dominican with a fastball/changeup combo that flash above average but a lot or work to do with delivery/feel

Jiminian was not among McDaniel's top 25 prospects list this time; similarly, Jiminian missed my list this time around, mostly because I want to see what he can do in the California League with those peripheral stats.

Since Jiminian signed at age 16, he just became eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. He wasn't protected by the Rockies, nor (obviously) was he selected, indicating that he needs some more minor league seasoning and wasn't enough of a high-ceiling arm for a team to take a flyer on. With a big 2015, Jiminian will force his way onto a 40-man roster, whether with the Rockies or with another squad through the Rule 5 Draft. Realistically though, he's probably at least two years away from breaking into the Show, if he does at all.

Contract Status: 2009 FA (DR), Rule 5 eligible, three options remaining

MLB ETA: Late 2017