Minor League Baseball is riddled with lists, awards, rankings, and more lists. It’s an overwhelming hodgepodge of opinion and scouting from both respected and unknown sources. The lists are mostly the same, with some variation on the players, and rarely have risky picks or analysis on fringe players. It’s all safe, easy analysis that sounds the same.
With this in mind, I’m proud to announce the 2017 My Dude nominees.
For those uneducated, the My Dude award is an award given to previously unheralded, underrated, or unknown prospects. The My Dude is not for top 10 guys, it’s not even really for top 30 guys. The My Dude award is for the guy you don’t think anyone is talking about yet but you believe in. It’s subjective; it can be based off gut feeling and it doesn’t require much justification. My Dudes, more than anyone other awards, are the people’s own. Previous winners of the My Dude award include Jordan Patterson (2015) and David Hill (2016).
My Dude nominees are for risks. You’re taking a chance on a guy who maybe nobody else is and saying, “This guy, this guy right here ... he’s my dude.” Take a chance on your dude. Don’t play it safe and worry about what people will think, just pick your dude.
Without further ado, the nominees (listed with their teams of employment in September 2016) for My Dude 2017 are...
Nominee #1: Brian Mundell, 1B, Asheville Tourists
Mundell is getting a good amount of hype after a great year in Asheville, hitting .313/.383/.505 in 537 at-bats for the Tourists in 2016. He has ended up on a lot of top 30 lists after the year and some are starting to view him as a potential major leaguer.
But, the hesitations with counting Mundell as a legitimate prospect are there. He was 22 this year, older than the average South Atlantic League ballplayer. He’ll be 23 in Lancaster. Being old for the level always garners hesitation from scouts and analysts.
It’s also a strict stat line scouting with Mundell. His hitting can’t be accurately analyzed from a Baseball-Reference page, so it becomes a difficult argument on what Brian will become.
Regardless, his season in Asheville merits note and has earned him a My Dude nomination.
Mundell may be the hottest name in the nominee pile; his fantastic season in Asheville has him pushing his way up sleeper lists.
Nominee #2: Josh Fuentes, 3B, Modesto Nuts
Fuentes, the cousin of Nolan Arenado, hit .307 between two levels this year with 13 home runs. He’s a powerful bat coming off a great third year as a pro hitter.
As an undrafted free agent out of junior college, Fuentes has never been a high profile prospect. This makes him a perfect My Dude selection. If Fuentes continues to hit and continues to push his way through the minors, this My Dude nomination will be credited as the beginning of the hype.
He’ll be 24 heading into 2017, the potential starting third baseman for the Hartford Yard Goats, and will gain steam if he continues to hit at the upper levels. Get in on the ground floor with Josh, folks!
Nominee #3: Johendi Jiminian, RHP, Hartford Yard Goats
Jiminian is our first pitching nominee for 2017. The 24-year-old Dominican had a fantastic 2016 as a Yard Goats reliever, sporting a 2.76 ERA in 58 innings for Hartford.
Jiminian has a projectable fastball and his K/9 jumped nearly an entire point after his move to relief. His stuff may have never been good enough to start but now that he’s been moved to the pen, this former PuRP may be back to being a potential impact arm for the Rockies at the MLB level.
Johendi also sports one of the top five names in the organization, pronounced with a soft J of course (yo-HEN-dee). People who love names would be regretting missing this up and comer!
Nominee #4: Daniel Suero, OF, Boise Hawks
Suero doesn’t impress with numbers, so it’s tough to make a My Dude choice with him if you haven’t seen him in person. But watch him in batting practice one time and it’ll be tough not to throw his batting average away and just embrace the My Dude philosophy of gut reactions and feelings.
Suero’s pop off his bat is instantly memorable. It sounds beautiful, it carries forever; the swing just looks easy in BP. Why that hasn’t translated to in-game success is tough to calculate, but watching him take practice swings could make anyone believe it’s only a matter of time before he finds himself and when he does, watch out.
Suero is the riskiest of My Dude selections because he hasn’t experienced true success yet at any level, but risk is what My Dude is all about. If you wanted to be safe you’d just make Jeff Hoffman your dude and everyone would make fun of you for being a conformist loser.
Nominee #5: Helmis Rodriguez, LHP, Modesto Nuts
Helmis is, by all the accounts of those who watch him, a gamer. A lefty reliever who may turn into a lefty specialist by the time he hits the bigs (if he hits the bigs), the 22-year-old Dominican is willing to pitch anywhere and at any time to help and develop.
Rodriguez started 13 games for the Nuts this past year and pitched in relief for 17 more. When Jesus Tinoco struggled for Modesto, Helmis filled in his spots and kept things running smooth. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but in a weird year in which he never knew his role, Rodriguez’s 3.36 ERA is nothing to simply scoff at.
Rodriguez’s My Dude nomination comes from the scouting reports of those who have seen him. They love the kid’s moxie and grind. A My Dude is supposed to represent the toughness of MiLB, the harsh summers of riding the bus from stadium to stadium through areas of abandoned fields, the culture of struggling through small pay for just a glimpse at the big leagues. Helmis represents that and more; a guy who isn’t heralded but is working his butt off in every single way he can to try and earn his dream job.
Helmis is the ideal My Dude candidate for anyone who loves grit.
★ ★ ★
There they are, your 2017 finalists for My Dude. The award winner will be announced in March during spring training. Fans of the My Dude award may pick their own My Dude winner, whether he is a nominee here for not. Below we have some additional candidates for this year’s My Dude:
Honorable Mentions
Shane Hoelscher, 3B, Modesto Nuts
Sam Thoele, RHP, Asheville Tourists
Mylz Jones, OF, Asheville Tourists
Wes Rogers, OF, Modesto Nuts
Dillon Thomas, OF, Hartford Yard Goats
All five of these Honorable Mentions represent My Dude in different ways, but one thing is for certain: anyone would be proud to select them as their dude. They missed out on the nominees this year, but they remain strong My Dude contenders.
No matter the official winner of My Dude 2017, the Rockies’ farm is littered with potential Dudes, a true sign of a strong system.
Now, the My Dude 2018 competition begins.