Eloy Jimenez Flexes Muscles At Myrtle Beach

BUIES CREEK, N.C.—After missing the first five weeks of season, Eloy Jimenez is getting back to his usual, mashing self.

The Cubs No. 1 prospect ripped a loud RBI double and scored a run to lead high Class A Myrtle Beach to a 2-0 win over Buies Creek (Astros) on Tuesday night, his 19th game since returning from a bone bruise in his right shoulder.

The 20-year-old Dominican outfielder is now hitting .286/.400/.509 since coming off the disabled list and joining the Pelicans.

“At times I felt anxious to get back on the field, but I knew my shoulder needed to get better first,” Jimenez said through an interpreter. “I’ve been feeling a lot better. I’ve been ready.”

Jimenez chased a high fastball for a strikeout in his first at-bat, but responded in his second at-bat by crushing a hanging curveball on the outer half to the wall in center, just to the right of the 395-foot sign.

It was the kind of loud power that made Jimenez a premium prospect last season, when he hit 40 doubles and 14 home runs as a 19-year-old in the Midwest League and was named that circuit’s No. 2 prospect.

“To me he has the ability to be the next Miguel Cabrera-type hitter,” Myrtle Beach hitting coach Guillermo Martinez said. “He uses the whole entire field, (with) power.”

Even with that lofty praise, Jimenez is still working through some deficiencies.

In addition to chasing up out of the zone on his strikeout, he also lunged for a popup in the sixth inning and rolled over a pitch for a groundout to short in the ninth.

“We’re doing a lot of things in the cage, trying to stay behind the baseball,” Martinez said. “He did that very well last year and that’s why he was able to hit for average and power. He was able to lay off a lot of pitches. Right now he’s a little jumpy towards the ball. Because he hasn’t been out here for a while he’s trying to show everyone at times he can hit, but if he just slows the game down it shows up for him a lot better.”

Jimenez said he is 100 percent recovered from his shoulder injury, although his time is being limited in the outfield and he served as the designated hitter Tuesday for the fourth time in eight games.

But Jimenez is first and foremost a hitter. In that regard, he is doing just fine.

“I’m trying to make some adjustments to the league right now, but I’m feeling better every day,” Jimenez said. “It’s the same game. I understand the pitchers at this level are more consistent with pitches in the zone. I just have to be ready a lot more often.”

NEWS AND NOTES

• Buies Creek catcher Jake Rogers, the Astros No. 20 prospect, doubled in his first at-bat and was robbed of another extra-base hit by a leaping catch from Cubs No. 11 prospect Eddy Martinez at the right-field wall. Rogers is hitting .333/.438/.617 in 17 games since his promotion from low Class A Quad Cities.

• Martinez went 0-for-4 and with two strikeouts, swinging through high 87 mph fastballs both times for strike three. He is hitting. 219/.269/.333 this season.

• Myrtle Beach lefthander Ryan Kellogg, the Cubs’ fifth-round pick in 2015, allowed only two hits in six shutout innings. Kellogg began the game throwing just 84-86 mph with his fastball but increased his velocity as the game went on and sat 88-91 by the sixth. He mixed in an 80-82 mph curveball and 78-80 mph changeup.

• Buies Creek lefthander Ryan Hartman pitched six innings, allowed three hits and two runs, walked two and struck out seven. The 2016 ninth-rounder sat 87-89 mph but had late life up in the zone on his fastball and was able to land his 73-75 mph curveball on the back foot of righthanded hitters. He also mixed in a 77-79 mph changeup.

• Myrtle Beach righthander Dillon Maples sat 94-96 mph with his fastball and 82-85 mph with a well-commanded power curveball to close out the ninth in order. The 25-year-old is 4-0, 2.01 with 44 strikeouts and 15 walks in 31.1 innings this season.