Chicago White Sox: Season preview of the outfielders

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DETROIT, MI – SEPTEMBER 22: Eloy Jimenez #74 of the Chicago White Sox walks out of the dugout after a 6-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on September 22, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

Eloy Jiménez

One of the biggest stories emerging near the end of the 2018 season was the fact that the White Sox were not going to call up a prized prospect who is obviously ready for major league competition just because of service time complications.

Fortunately, these issues are quickly submerged and forgotten. Clearing up a situation that could have ended in a number of terrible ways lead to prized prospect Eloy Jiménez up to the Chicago White Sox.

After a slow first week of April, Jiménez exploded. Not only did he hit his first home run at Yankee Stadium on April 12, but he hit his second home run that same day making it also his first multi-home run game. He would later hit his second multi-home run game just two weeks later.

And of course maybe the highlight of his rookie year. Playing against the team that drafted him and then traded him for the first time, Jiménez hit a two-run home run in the top of the ninth to put the White Sox up 3-1. This was a sweet moment for Jimenez, but he is able to share it with the fans because in a special way because the fact that it is the Cubs makes it that much sweeter.

He would end his rookie season with 31 home runs, 79 RBIs with a slash of .267/.315/.513 placing him at fourth in the AL Rookie of the Year race. After a few moments of blind and biased anger that Jiménez did not win, many, including myself, realized his amount of strikeouts, lack of walks and low OBP just was not capable of topping Yordan Álverez’s fantastic season. But still, fourth…?

Regardless, Jiménez is a lock at left. His ability to hit for average and power and drive in runs is why he was brought in. And he is starting to display those abilities. He can only get better.