Eloy Jimenez showed signs of superstardom as a rookie last year with the Chicago White Sox and he looks like a future home-run king in baseball. Here are two props available to wager at Mybookie on Jimenez’s 2020 MLB season – assuming there is one – and an overview.
Eloy Jimenez MLB Awards Odds & Analysis For 2020 Season
- Most home runs of any batter: Jimenez is +1500
- AL MVP Award: Jimenez is a +4000 longer shot
In July 2017, the Chicago White Sox sent very good starting pitcher Jose Quintana to the crosstown Cubs for a package of prospects headlined by MLB Pipeline’s No. 8 prospect in outfielder Eloy Jimenez and No. 63 prospect in pitcher Dylan Cease. The deal made sense for the Cubs at the time because they were trying to repeat as World Series champions, and Quintana did help them get to the 2017 playoffs – although the Cubbies didn’t get back to the Fall Classic.
In 2018, Quintana also helped the Cubs reach the playoffs. So for the first two years, the Cubs won that deal. However, they are big losers now because Jimenez is going to be a superstar as he showed in his 2019 rookie season.
In fact, the Sox were so high on Jimenez that before last season, they signed him to a six-year, $43 million deal that included two club options valued at $16.5 million and $18.5 million. At the time, it was largest ever contract for a player already in an organization who had not accumulated any service time. It already looks like a bargain.
When Eloy made his MLB debut he became the first player in White Sox history to wear No. 74. His first two career home runs were in the same game – April 12 at Yankee Stadium. He was the first visiting player to hit the first two MLB home runs of his career in the same game at Yankee Stadium since Manny Ramirez in 1993.
Jimenez hit .267 with 31 homers and 79 RBIs in 122 games – he missed a chunk due to injury. He displayed considerable improvement in the second half of the season and possesses one of the highest raw power ceilings of any hitter in the game. He finished strong, hitting .308 in the final two months with 14 homers and 40 RBIs. Jimenez hit .340/.383/.710 in September with nine home runs and tied for the AL lead with 25 RBIs.
“At the end, I felt like everything was slowed down and was easy because I just tried to play the game and enjoy the game,” he said. “At the beginning, I had too much pressure because I tried to do too much. This year is going to be better because now that we’ve got Luis Robert, the attention is not going to be on me.”
His 31 homers were the third-most by a Sox rookie, trailing José Abreu (36 in 2014) and Ron Kittle (35 in 1983). Jimenez became only the 19th rookie in American League history, and sixth since 1988, to hit 30-plus home runs in a season. He led all AL rookies in homers. He was one of only 11 players in MLB history to make his MLB debut and hit 30-plus home runs in the same season. Jimenez was the second Dominican-born player to hit 30-plus home runs as a rookie, joining Albert Pujols in 2001.
Jimenez had 14 home runs in the seventh inning or later. Only Bill Melton (15 in 1970) and Paul Konerko (15 in 2010) have had more in a season in White Sox history.
Jimenez drove in four runs in back-to-back games on Sept. 10-11 vs. Kansas City, becoming the first Sox player to accomplish the feat since Alexei Ramírez from Aug. 17-18, 2008. Jimenez also Has joined Abreu (2014) and Zeke Bonura (1934) as the only rookies in Sox history with four multihomer games in a season.
