logo
Blue Jays 2024 Player Review: Leo Jiménez saw a power surge this season
alt
Photo credit: © Dan Hamilton - USA Today
Ryley Delaney
Oct 27, 2024, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 28, 2024, 16:10 EDT
Comments
With the Toronto Blue Jays being sellers at the 2024 trade deadline, prospects in the organization had a chance to shine.
One such prospect was Leo Jiménez, who quickly became the team’s regular shortstop as Bo Bichette suffered multiple injuries. To say it was a wacky season for the 23-year-old Panamianan would be an understatement.
It was a good season for Jiménez, but let’s look at what made it good.

Leo Jiménez in 2024…

Plate Appearances: 210
Batting Average: .229
On-Base Percentage: .329
Slugging Percentage: .358
Home Runs: 4
Strikeouts: 59
Walks: 12
Fangraphs WAR: 0.6
Salary: $740,000
One of my favourite stats I’ve learned about since I started writing is Jiménez’s 2021 season in Single-A. That yeah, he slashed an incredible .315/.517/.381 with his first professional home run in 242 plate appearances, along with a 21.1 BB% and a 14.5 K%. Moreover, he was hit by a pitch 21 times, which is an 8.7 HBP%, higher than some players’ walk rate.
Over the years, Jiménez’s power developed, but his eye never reached that level. One thing that remained the same though was the ability to be hit by a pitch.
See, Jiménez is best described as a professional ball magnet. The 23-year-old slashed .271/.416/.431 with seven home runs in 226 plate appearances in Triple-A this season but was hit 15 times by a pitch.
In the big leagues, he slashed .229/.329/.358 while being hit 16 times by a pitch. Funnily enough, he was hit by a pitch more often than he walked (12), giving him a 7.6 HBP% and a 5.7 BB%. Of any player in the big leagues, Jiménez was hit by a pitch tied for the ninth-most in the league. However, every player ahead of him had at least 380 pitches, while Jiménez only had 210.
With that being said, Jiménez does more than just be hit by a pitch. In 2021, he hit his first professional home run and has steadily increased that over the years. The following season in 2022, Jiménez hit six home runs, following that up with eight home runs in 2023. After seven home runs in Triple-A Buffalo, Jiménez managed to hit four home runs with the Blue Jays, giving him a new career-high of 11.
Jiménez is also a strong defender at shortstop and second base. In 323.2 innings at short, the 23-year-old had 1 Defensive Runs Saved and -2 Outs Above Average, which isn’t great, but not terrible for a young shortstop. At second base, Jiménez played 166.2 innings, registering 1 DRS and 0 OAA.
However, Jiménez will have to make the Blue Jays roster out of Spring Training, as the 23-year-old has no more option years remaining. If he’s designated for assignment, the shortstop will surely be taken. Now, if Bichette is traded this off-season, the Jays could use Jiménez as a sort of stopgap for whenever Arjun Nimmala is ready.
Overall though, Jiménez showed he knows how to get on base at a big league level, and he could be a useful player for the Jays moving forward.

Previously in this series…

As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

Editorials

Breaking News