Leonardo Jimenez is a professional baseball shortstop and second baseman from Panama who currently plays for the Toronto Blue Jays. He was born on May 17, 2001. Major League Baseball ranks him ninth among the Top 30 Blue Jays prospects for 2022.
On July 2, 2017, Jimenez signed as an international free agent with the Blue Jays, getting an $800,000 signing bonus. In 2018, he debuted with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Blue Jays, hitting.250 in 37 games. He played practically the entire 2019 season for the Rookie Advanced Bluefield Blue Jays, hitting.298 in 56 games.
He didn’t play in 2020, due to the cancelled Minor League season. In 2021, he spent most of the year with the Class A Dunedin Blue Jays, playing in 54 games and batting a .316. In 2022, he started the season with the High-A Vancouver Canadians.
Jimenez has never divulged any information about his parents, he is a very private person who likes to keep his personal life away from media attention.
Leo Jimenez Scouting Report
Physical Description: Average height. Has notably filled out since signing; has thick thighs with new upper body strength. Looks to be close to physically maxed.
Hit: Stands crouched and open. Low in the box. Hands stay high and back. High amount of pre-pitch hand, bat, and left foot movement prior to loading. Keeps his weight on his back foot and has a moderate leg kick toward the pitcher.
The wide base at impact. The pre-pitch movement creates some noise in the swing which can lead to his upper and lower body being out of sync. Linear swing that creates line-drive contact off that bat, but it is mostly weak contact. Average bat speed. Shows a feel for the strike zone but tends to swing early and often on pitches in and around the zone. He has good pitch recognition for someone his age and has a knack for getting the barrel on the ball. His approach has yet to result in high strikeout rates, but added patience as he moves up the ladder would suit him well. He is also yet to truly impact the ball, but his bat-to-ball skills could push this grade to average in time. Grade: 45