Billy McKinney doesn't turn 21 until August, but he already knows not to take anything for granted.

"You can go to bed on one team and wake up on another," the Tennessee Smokies outfielder said.

McKinney was part of last June's blockbuster deal that sent prime infield prospect Addison Russell from Oakland to the Chicago Cubs for pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel.

"I couldn't believe the A's would give up Addison," McKinney said at the time.

Playoff aspirations can get a team to sacrifice a little of the future for the present, though. Now McKinney's name is being mentioned as a possible trade chip by the Cubs to improve their 2015 postseason chances.

"You can't worry about stuff like that," said the No. 96 prospect on MLB.com's Top 100. "I know baseball is a business. I already found that out."

McKinney, ranked No. 5 on the Cubs' prospect list, certainly doesn't want to change organizations again, though.

"To have friends and former teammates already there makes you want to get to Chicago even more," he said. "Everyone is excited about being part of the Cubs' future."

The Cubs rate the winners in the Samardzija deal, and not just because Russell is already a regular at age 21. McKinney, the No. 24 overall pick in the 2013 Draft, was certainly more than just an extra name in the trade. The left-handed hitting and throwing native of Texas batted .301 with Class A Advanced Daytona last season after the trade and has been even more impressive at the plate this season.

McKinney began the year back in Class A Advanced with Myrtle Beach, but soon hit his way out of the Carolina League. In 29 games with the Cubs' new affiliate, he batted .340 and had more walks (17) than strikeouts (13).

"You always want to move up a level each year, but I trusted the Cubs' decision," he said.

Since joining the Double-A Southern League, it has been more of the same at the plate for McKinney. He had a .310 average with 17 doubles and a .363 on-base mark after 50 games for the Smokies. For the season, his overall batting average was .323 and his OPS .880 thanks to an on-base percentage of .390 and a slugging mark of .490.

Of course, it hasn't been all smooth sailing for McKinney.

He was 1-for-20 over a six-game stretch in mid-June but followed that up by going 13-for-20 over the next six games and reaching base safely in 10 straight trips to the plate during one stretch.

"Sometimes you find the holes and sometimes you don't," McKinney said. "You just have to try and stay even-keeled."

All in all, McKinney has been a model of consistence with the Smokies. He batted .298 in May, .319 in June and then .310 through his first 11 games of July. Over his last 35 games, he had 13 walks to 12 strikeouts.

No wonder why McKinney was coveted by the Cubs and is now a potential target of other teams in deals.

The future is hard to predict, but the youthful polished hitter certainly has one.

In brief

Kepler sidelined: Outfielder/first baseman Max Kepler was put on the Chattanooga disabled list and missed the All-Star Futures Game after aggravating his throwing shoulder at Jacksonville on July 8. Minnesota's No. 14 prospect, a native of Germany, was to play for the World in the July 12 showcase at Cincinnati. Kepler, 22, is second in the Southern League with a .335 batting average and .944 OPS. He had 33 extra-base hits in 65 games and had drawn 30 walks while striking out just 33 times.

Finally some power: Mississippi hit seven homers in its first 12 games of July after smacking just two over a 37-game span from May 18 to June 30. The M-Braves still had by far the fewest homers in the Southern League with 19, though, and their slugging mark of .320 through 85 games is historically low. It is currently the worst for an SL team since Columbus had a .302 slugging mark in 1976, and only one full-season team since 2005 has slugged lower than Mississippi's current mark -- Class A Lexington (.307) in 2013.

Circle that date: When Pensacola left fielder Jesse Winker hit a grand slam against Montgomery on July 10, it was the second time he had a bases-loaded homer on that date in three years. Cincinnati's No. 2 prospect accomplished the feat with Dayton of the Class A Midwest League in 2013. This was the fifth homer of the season for Winker, who was enjoying a second-half rebound. He was batting .362 with seven extra-base hits and 12 RBIs in 17 second-half games after hitting .248 with 14 extra-base hits and 17 RBIs over 60 first-half contests. Winker, 21, was taken by the Reds with the No. 49 overall pick in the 2012 Draft.

Quicker pace: No Double-A or Triple-A league has benefited more from the Minor League speed-up rules than the Southern League. The average time of game has dropped 13 minutes, going from two hours and 52 minutes in 2014 to two hours and 39 minutes this season. For all Double-A and Triple-A leagues, the average reduction was 11 minutes. Pitchers and batters have adjusted to being on the clock, with the umpires calling only a few violations. Timers were installed for the first time this season, and they also monitor breaks between innings.