Carlos Jimenez Displays Power And Consistency At The Plate In First High-A Season

October 15, 2026 — EVERETT, Wash.: After grinding his way through the Seattle Mariners’ minor league system for five full seasons, Everett AquaSox outfielder Carlos Jimenez earned his first opportunity to play at the High-A level in 2026.

Following a half-decade’s worth of waiting, Jimenez did not disappoint.

“He is a player that can hit for power, he can also take walks, he has really good plate discipline, and he also can do some damage at the plate,” AquaSox Outfield Coach Edgardo Rivera said. “He has taken over every opportunity he’s had and maximized it to his best.”

Appearing in 102 games for the AquaSox during the 2026 campaign, the lefty-swinging and lefty-throwing Jimenez became a key cog in the batting order for Manager Ryan Scott. Shuffling between the leadoff spot and the heart of the lineup, the Mariners’ No. 25 prospect remained a consistent contributor of extra-base hits, RBIs, stolen bases, and walks, providing his team with a true Swiss Army Knife skillset.

“The approach for him is hitting a lot of balls hard to right field. He's going to catch up to balls out front and hit them hard to the short, right-center field wall, or he’ll hit him down the line — he's got a number of triples this year down there,” Scott said. “The coolest part to see is when he does smoke a ball to left field, when he does catch a fastball a little bit deep in a two-strike count, and seeing him understand what the important thing is [in a particular situation], which might not be trying to hit a homer — it might be getting on base for the team. If he can make contact, he's fast enough to get some infield singles if he just puts the ball in play. Him being able to adjust and do that has been the coolest thing to see from Carlos this year — understanding what each situation is going to call for and being able to find a way to get the job done.”

The 23-year-old native of Los Alcarrizos, Dominican Republic, hit .287 — a batting average that ranked fourth among qualified Northwest League hitters — while turning in 20 home runs, 20 stolen bases, 24 doubles, and 79 RBIs. His home run and RBI totals were both career-high tallies, as were his 66 walks.

Jimenez had only achieved double-digit homers once before 2026, when he hit 14 with the Single-A Modesto Nuts in 2025. His coaches credited selectivity and learning how his tools can create the most damage as factors to his increased power, helping him achieve his first 20-20 season.

“Since I was young, I’ve had a good swing. I remember that since I started playing baseball, I used to train with heavy bats to train my bat speed,” Jimenez said through Rivera. “It’s something that has always been there, but not as explosive as this year. I feel like during the offseason, I did really good workouts to prepare myself. My body is really good, and then you put that together with the talent that I have and the ability that I have to hit the ball. [Combine] that explosiveness in the weight room with my swing and we see the results now.”

Also posing as a threat on the basepaths with his speed, Jimenez took strides with his decision-making and understanding of the game. Situational baseball holds value at any level, but especially in the Northwest League where players only face the same five opponents for 132 games and tendencies can be studied in-person more frequently.

“For him, it's a lot of baseball IQ stuff. Obviously, he's super fast, and the pitchers and catchers know he's fast so they're doing extra pickoffs and changing up their times with guys like him,” AquaSox Bench Coach Logan Moore said.
”It's getting him to pick the spots and play the game a little bit — knowing the counts, the outs, the importance of the run, the scoreboard… and kind of implying a little bit of a checklist on the bases so that he can make his times go easier. Like I said, he's super fast, super talented, and super athletic so if we can get him to continue to play the game a little bit more and pick his spots and stay on the right track with that, he can only get better.”

Another area that Jimenez took a leap forward in during the 2026 campaign was his plate discipline. He ranked third in the Northwest League in both walks and on-base percentage (.393), serving as a tone-setter at the plate by making pitchers work hard early in games by forcing them to throw hittable pitches in the strike zone.

“Carlos is certainly a quality at-bat machine,” AquaSox Hitting Coach Chase Miller said. “He has a really good understanding of what pitches he can hit hard and then there's just this willingness or courage to take close pitches to draw walks too, and that's led to some awesome results.”

Overall, Jimenez turned in one of the strongest offensive seasons in the entirety of the Northwest League. His .926 OPS that ranked second among qualified hitters reflects his all-around skillset, and staying true to a positive mindset that remains fresh with each new day helped him achieve success.

“I have the mindset that if I have a bad day, tomorrow is a new day. Then, in the batter’s box, I am looking for the fastball to do damage to fastballs in my zone,” Jimenez said. “[I try not to] swing at pitches out of the strike zone and be ready for that fastball in the damage zone.”

“He’s recognizing that when he goes 0-for-4, tomorrow is a new day. He's also been very consistent with his routine and taking care of his body,” Rivera said. “He is wanting to learn the game and baseball IQ is something that as an organization, we built a plan for him and he has been really good [at following the plan]. And, outside of baseball, he’s taking care of his family — talking to them on a daily basis — and that is something that has been very helpful for him.”

With a promotion to Double-A likely in the near horizons, Jimenez is looking forward to an offseason of physical training and skill building based on organizational feedback to help him become a game-changing impact player as he continues to rise the ranks of the Mariners’ farm system. Regardless of where he begins the 2027 season, his team knows they will have a supportive, high-character teammate that helps elevate those around him both on and off of the diamond.

“He's a great human being. He wants to get better and he wants to improve. 
He has the mindset to be a big-leaguer and besides that, he is a great person,” Rivera said. “Put that together with the talent that he has — I have learned a lot from him and the respect is there.”

“Carlos is a great teammate and he brings a great energy. 
He is so positive and all of the guys love him,” Scott said. “You can see watching the video of his walk-off homer [from August 27 against the Eugene Emeralds] how excited he was to celebrate with his teammates and how excited his teammates were to celebrate with him. That’s always going to be very telling of what a good teammate looks like.”

PICTURED ABOVE: Carlos Jimenez

PHOTO BY: Evan Morud

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