Early Eloy evaluation: White Sox rookie heading in right direction

The Chicago White Sox's game against the Tigers at Comerica Park was rained out Saturday.

Let's use the down time to check up on Eloy Jimenez.

Projected to be the Sox's best young hitter since Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, Jimenez has had some bright moments in his rookie season.

Earlier this month, he was 5-for-9 over a two-game stretch against the Indians and Mariners.

In his first game at Yankee Stadium, Jimenez was 3-for-4 and he hit his first 2 career home runs, which traveled a combined 871 feet.

At Detroit Thursday, the 22-year-old left fielder hit his third homer of the season, a 2-run shot to the opposite (right) field.

Over his first 19 games with the White Sox, Jimenez has a .243/.300/.392 hitting line with 2 doubles, 3 home runs and 8 RBI. Not great, but not bad for the ninth-youngest player in the majors.

"He's having much better at-bats," manager Rick Renteria said on the Sox's last homestand. "His approaches are much better. He's laying off some very tough pitches down in the zone. His chase rate is minimizing at this point, which is a really good indication of his approach.

"I think the trust again, seeing the ball and trying not to do too much, all those things combined with the work he's doing, all the conversations we've had with everybody, are continuing to help him. But let's not forget the great talent he has within him and the innate ability probably that will continue to give him in the future the ability to be a really, really good hitter."

As for the present, Jimenez is trying to make the daily adjustments that challenge every young hitter.

According to Brooks Baseball, Jimenez has seen 312 pitches in his first 80 plate appearances with the White Sox.

The majority (116 pitches) have been sliders, and there has also been a steady diet of change-ups and curveballs.

As Renteria noted, Jimenez has been laying off more and more pitches after striking out 4 times in his first 7 at-bats.

The 6-foot-4, 245-pounder has cut the strikeouts down to 19 in his last 67 at-bats.

To better understand where Jimenez is going, let's step back and look at where he's been.

After playing his first 53 games of 2018 at Class AA Birmingham, Jimenez spent the final 55 games with AAA Charlotte.

Mark Grudzielanek is Charlotte's manager, and he's been keeping an eye on Jimenez's transition to the majors.

"There's no question he's a talented hitter," Grudzielanek said. "They (Sox) feel very strongly about him or they wouldn't have locked him up for all those years (six years for $43 million plus club options for 2025-26). It's a process for every hitter. Until you get to the big leagues and you understand it ... I always look at it like this, for hitters, you have to earn pitches.

"You start learning how to recognize pitches and stay off the ones off the plate. It's hard to do for young hitters. They feel like they need to make that impact so fast."

Jimenez pleaded guilty to trying to do too much too soon, but he is gradually settling down and easing in.

Grudzielanek played 15 years in the major leagues with the Dodgers, Expos, Royals, Cubs, Cardinals and Indians. The infielder has a career .289 batting average and 2,040 hits, so he understands what Jimenez is going through.

"He's growing as a hitter, he's understanding it," Grudzielanek said. "He's got to earn those pitches and get a little more comfortable. It's a big step. It's a big jump.

"Just play the game and do the things he's been doing all this time. Try to absorb the information, learn, but do it in a way where you're not putting too much pressure on yourself. That always comes with relaxing and feeling confident, knowing you're going to be out there every day, which he is.

"All the other stuff, the baseball stuff, will take care of itself as long as you prepare right and understand what you need to do."