Baseball America just wrapped up their hot sheet for the season. Instead of showing the hottest player for the week they picked what they felt were the 20 hottest performances of the year. Kershaw ranked number 13 and McDonald ranked 16.
13. Clayton Kershaw, lhp, Double-A Jacksonville (Dodgers)
Kershaw cruised through the Midwest League with low Class A Great Lakes, going 7-5, 2.77 in 97 innings with an appearance in the Futures Game before being promoted to Jacksonville. He had a wake up call in his first couple of outings, but finished 1-2, 3.65 in 25 innings. Kershaw finished the season 8-7, 2.95 in 122 innings with 163 strikeouts. He was third in the minors with 12.02 strikeouts per nine innings.
16. James McDonald, rhp, Double-A Jacksonville (Dodgers)
McDonald came out of nowhere and will likely rank in the Dodgers' Top 10 Prospects. McDonald, who spent all of 2004 and 2005 as an outfielder, went 6-7, 3.95 in the Cal League before moving to Jacksonville where he carved up hitters with his 89-93 mph fastball, curveball and plus changeup. After going 7-2, 1.71 in 53 innings for the Suns, McDonald ranked among the overall strikeout leaders with 168 in 135 innings.