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This year's crop of middle infielders for the World team boasts similar promise. With slick fielding abilities and sweet swings, the quartet of Elvis Andrus, Emilio Bonifacio, Scott Campbell and Ivan DeJesus may not ring a bell yet, but they will in the near future.

Bonifacio has already seen Major League pitching with the Diamondbacks, while the other three have all worked up to the Double-A level in a relatively short period of time.

Here's a closer look at the four middle infielders that will play for the World team at Yankee Stadium on July 13:

Elvis Andrus, SS
Texas Rangers (Double-A Frisco)

Andrus, a Texas League All-Star this season, will be making his second consecutive appearance in the Futures Game, although this time he's affiliated with the Texas Rangers. Originally signed by the Atlanta Braves in 2005, Andrus was one of the highly touted prospects sent to Texas in return for Mark Teixeira at the trade deadline last season.

Andrus is a 19-year-old shortstop who excels in the field. At the same time, his offense has continued to progress in his first season at Double-A, and his average has gone up each month of the season. For the year, the 6-foot, 185-pounder is hitting .279 with 31 RBIs and 26 stolen bases. In the month of June, though, he hit .309 with his first home run of the season for the RoughRiders.

"His defense right now is superior, and his defensive ability is as good as anybody in the game in our opinion especially on that level for a 19-year-old," said John Lombardo, the Rangers' director of Minor League operations. "That is probably his best asset as we speak, but we feel the rest of his game is quickly catching up to his defensive ability."

Emilio Bonifacio, 2B
Arizona Diamondbacks (Triple-A Tucson)

Signed in 2001 as a 16-year-old, Bonifacio has slowly moved up the Diamondbacks' Minor League ranks the past six seasons. He had a brief stint with the big club last season, playing 11 games for Arizona in September.

This season, Bonifacio is having one of his best years for Tucson of the Pacific Coast League. The second baseman is hitting .306 with 29 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. Those stats have been bolstered by Bonifacio's blistering June, in which he hit .342 with 13 extra-base hits.

• July 1: Catchers       •  Profile: Lou Marson • July 2: World Middle Infielders       •  Profile: Ivan DeJesus • July 3: U.S. Middle Infielders       •  Profile: Cliff Pennington • July 4: World Corner Infielders       •  Profile: Angel Villalona • July 7: U.S. Corner Infielders       •  Profile: Mat Gamel/Matt LaPorta • July 8: World Outfielders       •  Profile: Gerardo Parra • July 9: U.S. Outfielders       •  Profile: Andrew McCutchen • July 10: World Pitchers       •  Profile: Henry Rodriguez       •  Profile: Phillipe Aumont • July 11: U.S. Pitchers       •  Profile: Jake Arrieta       •  Profile: Kevin Pucetas

The 5-foot-10 native of the Dominican Republic is used to All-Star Games, having been named a Midwest League All-Star in 2005 as well as a Southern League All-Star in 2007.

[Editor's note: Bonifacio was promoted to the Majors and will be replaced by SS Ramiro Pena of the New York Yankees (Double-A Trenton)]

Scott Campbell, 2B
Toronto Blue Jays (Double-A New Hampshire)

When Campbell suits up for the World Team July 13, he'll be just the second New Zealander to ever play in the Futures Game. The New Hampshire second baseman, however, is used to setting the standard for his homeland after becoming the first native Kiwi ever drafted when Toronto took him in the 10th round in 2006.

Campbell has rewarded the Blue Jays in a big way, as the second baseman can flat out rake. After hitting .292 in the New York-Penn League and .279 in the Midwest League his first two seasons, Campbell is shredding the competition to the tune of an Eastern League-leading .342 average so far in 2008. The left-handed batter has four home runs and 27 RBIs to go along with that average.

Ivan DeJesus, SS
Los Angeles Dodgers (Double-A Jacksonville)

DeJesus, the son of former Major Leaguer Ivan DeJesus, has had no trouble making the transition to Double-A. In his first season with the Suns, DeJesus is hitting .303 with 33 RBIs while playing a slick shortstop for Jacksonville.

The Dodgers organization has made a habit of sending infielders to the Futures Game, with third baseman Joel Guzman -- now playing for Durham in the Tampa Bay system -- representing LA in 2004 and '06 and shortstop Chin-Lung Hu making the trip to San Francisco last season. That's good and bad news for DeJesus, as Hu may block him at the shortstop position at the next level. Fortunately, the Puerto Rico native has also played some second base for Jacksonville.

Tim Britton is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.

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