(670 The Score) The White Sox's signing of top prospect Eloy Jimenez to a long-term contract last week has paved the way for him to be on the team's Opening Day roster, as it rendered service time considerations meaningless.
While the team hasn't confirmed it yet, the expectation is that Jimenez will be in the lineup when Chicago opens its season at Kansas City on Thursday. Whenever Jimenez does make his debut, it will be a thrilling moment for the organization.
"We're very excited about it," manager Rick Renteria said on Inside the Clubhouse on Saturday. "Obviously, he becomes a big part of who we are and hopefully one of the pieces we build around. I think everybody's been looking forward to this young man's appearance with the Chicago White Sox. Fortunately, it's going to happen sooner rather than later.
"We're happy for the young man and we're happy for us as Chicago White Sox that he's going to be able to continue to experience and grow at the major league level with us."
Jimenez, 22, is ranked as the No. 3 prospect by Baseball America and MLB Pipeline. He posted a slash line of .337/.384/.577 in time split between Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte in 2018.
The White Sox are counting on Jimenez to lead the way in the coming years as the organization produces more young talents at the big league level. Another key figure in the team's hopes is third baseman Yoan Moncada, who was uneven in 2018, his first full year in the big leagues.
Moncada posted a slash line of .235/.315/.400 with an MLB-worst 217 strikeouts. The White Sox have made it a focus to help Moncada improve his plate approach.
"Being able to take advantage earlier in counts, to use that ability to put the bat on the ball," Renteria said. "I think in terms of the caught looking, I think there are certain situations in which we might want him to be a little bit ore apt to put the bat on the ball, especially RBI situations, infield back. I know we talk about that a lot."
