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Eloy Jimenez 2019 Outlook: Young Phenom Ready To Take MLB By Storm
Chicago White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez should force his way onto the big-league squad and its starting lineup in short order, though they’ll likely keep him down for a few weeks in April because the MLB service time stipulations are a joke. Regardless, Jimenez should be producing by mid-to-late April after he flashed the high-power, high-average potential once again in 2018. He popped 10 homers with a .317/.368/.556 slash line in 228 Double-A plate appearances before swatting 12 dingers alongside a pristine .355/.399/.597 slash in 228 Triple-A PAs. While MLB pitching will require an adjustment, it’s worth noting that Jimenez has held a strikeout rate steadily between 17-20% at nearly every level with a walk rate that’s touched 10% but will likely settle between 6-8%. His fantasy value will also depend on where CWS pencils him into the order, but he’s better than anyone not named Jose Abreu and shouldn’t hit lower than fifth for the majority of the year. Most projections peg him for an average around .280 or .290 with 20-22 homers and 135 R+RBI in roughly 500 PAs, hence our site ranking of Jimenez as the 35th OF that hedges against management risk more than his ADP of 110, which makes him the 30th OF off the board.
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