Getting to know shortstop Leo Jiménez, the latest Bison to be called up to the Blue Jays
2 days ago
There’s some bad news, and there’s some good news.
The bad news is that one of Toronto’s best hitters this season – Isiah Kiner-Falefa – was placed on the 10-day Injured List and is “week-to-week” with a knee injury. The good news is that Leo Jiménez was recalled and will be active for Tuesday’s game.
In recent times, the Blue Jays have called up a ton of prospects from the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, including Brandon Eisert, Spencer Horwitz, Orelvis Martinez, and Steward Berroa. Each time, we’ve done a “Getting to know” article, and it’s no different for Jiménez!
The Panamanian-native signed for $825,000 during the 2017 international free agency period. He started his professional career in 2018 with the Gulf Coast league Blue Jays, where he slashed .250/.333/.341 in 150 plate appearances with no home runs and a 96 wRC+. The next season, he played mainly in the Rookie Advanced league, where Jiménez slashed .298/.377/377, once again with no home runs, in 245 plate appearances.
Jiménez had one of the most wild seasons in the 2021 season with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays. Then 21 years old, he slashed .315/.517/.381 with his first professional home run, along with a crazy 21.1 BB% and a 14.5 K% in 242 plate appearances. It wasn’t just a high BB% though, as Jiménez was hit 21 times with a pitch.
The 2022 season with the High-A Vancouver Canadians saw a power surge, as he hit six home runs in 294 plate appearances while slashing .230/.340’/.385 for a 106 wRC+, down from the 168 wRC+ the season prior.
His power totals increased even more in 2023, as he hit eight home runs in 333 plate appearances with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, while slashing .287/.372/.436 with a 9.6 BB% and a 15.9 K%. Jiménez even got experience in Triple-A, as he had 77 plate appearances, but didn’t do much of note.
This season,. Jiménez has put it all together. With the Buffalo Bisons, he slashed .271/.416/.431 with seven home runs in 226 plate appearances. His BB% has increased to 13.3%, while his K% sits at 15%. Moreover, he is just one home run shy of matching his career-best that he achieved last season.
On top of a good hit tool and an increase in power, Jiménez is one of their best defensive infielders. This season with the Bisons, Jiménez has committed just one error in 351.1 innings, a pretty good sign after struggling during Spring Training.
Hopefully, he can be the latest former Buffalo Bison to make an impact for the Blue Jays. He ranks as the team’s fifth-best prospect according to Fangraphs, the same ranking MLB Pipeline gave him.
All in all, Jiménez is an exciting prospect and hopefully, he’ll get an opportunity to play every day for the Jays.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.
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