Barons' Jimenez busts out of brief slump

In his experience coaching baseball, Double-A Birmingham manager Julio Vinas knows the game's elite players can produce a "special noise" when their bat makes contact with the ball.
That's a sound he continually hears from Eloy Jiménez.
"He's got plus-plus power to all fields, no doubt about it," Vinas said of the White Sox No. 2 prospect. "Even in BP to see him hit and he's not even really swinging the bat. It's an effortless swing and the ball just jumps off of his bat."
Jimenez collected his second Southern League homer as part of another three-hit night, but the Barons dropped a 10-3 decision to Tennessee on Saturday at Regions Field.

Since his promotion from Class A Advanced Winston Salem on Aug. 15, Jimenez has a .318/.348/.543 slash line with five extra-base hits and five RBIs in 12 games. The 20-year-old is batting .338 with 10 home runs and 31 RBIs since being acquired in a blockbuster deal that sent Jose Quintana to the Cubs on July 13.
"He's looked good ever since he's gotten [to Birmingham]," Vinas said. "He's been giving quality ABs and he asks the right questions. He's an experienced hitter for his age, and he has a knowledge about hitting and how he puts his approach into play. It's impressive to see that day in and day out. Again, I can't speak enough about the at-bats he gives us for the age that he's at." 
If there had been any drop in Jimenez's performance, it came in his previous four games in which he went 2-for-14 to bring his average down 71 points to .275. Vinas wasn't surprised to see the brief funk, but knows the native of the Dominican Republic has the physical and mental tools to break out at any time. 
Gameday box score
"That's the thing about baseball, everyone goes through it," the skipper said. "You look at all of the best hitters who have played this game and they all hit .300. You don't see too many guys hit .400. Every player goes through adversity, but he's the same guy day in and day out.
"It's always great to see him, he's always got a smile on his face, whether he went 0-for-4 or 4-for-4. And when guys have that type of attitude and carry themselves, they usually are very, very good baseball players." 
Squaring off against his former organization Saturday, Jimenez came up in the first after Mason Robbins' single and sent a 2-2 pitch from Steve Perakslis over the left-center field wall for a two-run homer -- his first since debuting with the Barons on Aug. 16.
"It's great to see, it's refreshing to see him have those at-bats day in and day out," Vinas said. "And a lot of the other guys are noticing his at-bats, also. He has this two-strike approach where he spreads out a little bit wider and shortens up on the bat and he still hits the ball with authority. From day one, he's been super-impressive to watch." 

In the third, Jimenez came through with another two-strike hit, lacing a single back up the middle. He added a single through the left side in the fifth.
With the Barons down 10-2 in the eighth, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound outfielder reached on an error by shortstop Carlos Penalver. Jimenez scored three batters later when No. 9 White Sox prospect Zack Collins ripped a single to right.
Vinas is impressed with the way Jimenez fights in his plate appearances, regardless of the score. 
"He's one of the guys that's like, 'C'mon guys, let's go, a couple of more runs and we're right back into this game,'" Vinas said. "He's that type of young leader. He's such a great kid, too. He's always asking the right questions, he wants knowledge. It's just great having him around, it really is." 
Across two levels and two organizations this year, Jimenez is batting .304 with 18 roundtrippers and 63 RBIs. His manager wouldn't be surprised to see him make the jump to the South Side in the near future. 
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"He's a very polished hitter for his age," Vinas said. "Sometimes you'll have other guys that are polished defensively or mixed in between both, they're very polished on both ends. But he's a very extremely polished hitter. I don't think I'm going out on a limb now, but if he was to go up to the big leagues, I think he'd hold his own up there. Just how mentally strong he is and how well he's able to put a plan into play." 
For the Smokies, Cubs No. 22 prospect Charcer Burks went deep and Penalver finished 4-for-5 with a double, while Jeffrey Baez collected four hits and three RBIs as he fell a home run shy of the cycle.