Carlos Jimenez Has Emerged As One of the Pirates’ Best Lower Level Pitching Prospects

Even with big bonus second rounder Anthony Solometo on the team, the best pitching prospect on the Bradenton Marauders might be Carlos Jimenez.

On Friday night, Jimenez worked four innings in relief of Solometo, giving up four runs, but striking out nine. Most of the damage came early, with Jimenez coming out of the bullpen for just the fifth time of his young career.

“Getting into the game, and not having that routine to get started is a bit different for him,” said Bradenton manager Jonathan Johnston. “He needs to be able to do that, because he may be used in a type of situation like that. It was a good experience for him coming in after Solometo. His stuff is real, he just needs to continue to learn every day and get better.”

I got some video of that first inning from Jimenez, where he settled down midway through the inning. I like his timing, and edited the video to display how he will vary his hold time before delivering the pitch. As you’ll see below, he’s got some filthy options to choose from.

Jimenez is only 19-years-old. He was a lower profile signing in July 2018, but has quickly emerged as one of the better prospects in the lower levels, after putting up strong numbers in the rookie leagues. The Pirates gave him an aggressive promotion to Single-A, where he’s one of the youngest players in the league. He also has a 3.09 ERA and a 38:15 K/BB ratio in 23.1 innings, showing the age isn’t impacting him much.

Below is a breakdown of the pitches thrown by Jimenez, to get a better idea of what makes him so good at a young age. Thanks to Anthony Murphy for the pitch stats and the video breakdowns.

Fastball

By the Numbers

Usage: 43.7%
Whiff%: 18.48%
Velocity: 94.1 mph
Spin: 2262 rpm
Vertical Break: 14.7 inches
Horizontal Break: 10.3 inches

Analysis

If you’re looking for a good breakdown of the impacts of spin rate, FanGraphs has a great article looking at velocity and spin rate combinations. The current numbers from Jimenez put him in a group with a .334 wOBA against the fastball at the MLB level. I don’t think he could just take his fastball to the majors today and automatically get those results. There are probably more factors to consider. That said, he throws the fastball for strikes, it doesn’t get hit much, and generates a good whiff rate. That rate is soon put to shame by the secondary stuff.

Changeup

By the Numbers

Usage: 41.7%
Whiff%: 59.78%
Velocity: 86.3 mph
Spin: 1763 rpm
Vertical Break: 30.7 inches
Horizontal Break: 13.7 inches

Analysis

Jimenez gets a swinging strike just under 60% of the time with this pitch, and watching the video above, you can see why. It acts as a slider at times, and other times has a bit more break back to the arm side. The pitch is inconsistent, but has so much movement that it’s not a surprise he’s getting these swinging strike numbers at this level. This is a perfect lesson in what command actually is. Watching the video above, the pitch consistently works in the 86 MPH range, but has different movements. It seems Jimenez goes for a true changeup with cutting motion away from lefties when he is facing a lefty, while letting it have more slider movement away from right-handers. However, you can see that he’s not always able to control the movement and look from pitch-to-pitch. There are some where you can imagine him getting swinging strikes in the majors, and others where you know this will only fly in Single-A. Overall, the pitch shows a ton of promise, and has a lot of value right now for Jimenez, being equally as important as his fastball.

Curveball

By the Numbers

Usage: 14.6%
Whiff%: 39.13%
Velocity: 78 mph
Spin: 2564 rpm
Vertical Break: 52.6 inches
Horizontal Break: 14.09 inches

Analysis

The curve has some side-to-side movement with a big arch, almost like a slurve at times. The pitch has a more extreme movement toward the glove side of Jimenez than the changeup, and finishes with a hard sink toward the glove side, rather than a late break back to the arm side like the changeup. That makes this pitch a good complement to the changeup, giving Jimenez another swing-and-miss pitch with movement to pair with his fastball/changeup dominant combo.

Carlos Jimenez is a Future MLB Pitcher

Again, we need to consider that Jimenez is one of the youngest players in his league. The fact that he’s been so unhittable this early is phenomenal.

“I think the stuff is obviously the reason why he’s here,” said Johnston. “Continuing to control it, and control his emotions and be able to stay focused and I think he’s going to take off from there.”

You can see that there are things to work on for Jimenez. He needs better control. He could use better command to get a more consistent break from his changeup.

Yet, you can also see what makes him such a talented prospect. A fastball that averages 94 with good spin, and the potential to add more velocity as he fills out. Two secondary pitches that have a lot of movement — both vertical and horizontal — while playing well off each other at the end of the pitches.

His demeanor on the mound is also a positive. There was one pitch where Jimenez missed high and outside to a lefty, only to immediately look at the catcher, pat his chest twice to take accountability for the miss, and follow it up with a strike on a fastball low in the zone. He finished that same batter off with the same pitch, looking like a changeup away, and this time got him. That type of quick recovery will serve him well more often in the future.

There’s a lot to like about Jimenez, and the easiest way I can describe it is by describing what I saw on Friday night. The Pirates had Anthony Solometo and Carlos Jimenez — both 19 years old — pitching on the same night. Solometo just received $2.9 million due to his projectable skills and abilities from this age. Jimenez spent a few years in pro ball developing to this point, and has developed into a pitcher who is on par with a high profile draft pick like Solometo. Jimenez has MLB quality stuff already at a very young age, just without the MLB quality experience or command.

The good thing for the Pirates is they now have both pitchers developing together.