Unowned
Gilberto Jimenez, OF
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Scouting report
Jimenez's listed weight on the Fall Instructional League roster is 50 pounds heavier than it was on last year's, but the weight (surely there was a lag in Boston updating it, and this gain occurred over a longer stretch of time) does not trouble the scouts I spoke with, as Jimenez simply looks stronger and more physical and hasn't lost much speed. He's now only a 70 runner who has a chance to lead off and play impact defense in center field. The news of the added weight and strength is exciting because, while Jimenez was already a 45+ on last year's writeup, he had little in-game power due to a very simple, opposite-field, slap-oriented approach, especially from the left side. There's been a little bit of movement on that score, but scouts still describe his swing as "handsy" and unlikely to produce power as it's currently constituted, again, especially from the left side. Both swings were previously concerning for several reasons (bat path, balance, varied lower half use) but it's possible that, even without a mechanical overhaul, Jimenez's increased physicality will enable him to hit for doubles power down both baselines and to the gaps, which would be perfectly suitable for both traditional and modern leadoff man archetypes so long as he has the requisite secondary skills. He has good natural feel for making contact thanks to impressive hand-eye coordination. And again, this is a plus-plus athlete with what the org thinks is plus-plus makeup, elite speed, and impact defense and arm strength. On top of all this, Jimenez led the college-heavy New York-Penn League in hitting as a 19-year-old primarily hitting left-handed, something he started doing just two years ago in Instructional League. He'll likely be on this offseason's Picks to Click and would have been on this offseason's top 100 had he been able to show in games that the body change impacted the power output, or that he has a high-end feel for the strike zone. (Fall Instructional League)