Sinn der Hilfe Engel ! » That's Part A, and while it's an important part

Eloy Jimenez is a potent Dwight Gooden Jersey , dangerous power hitter who's poised to crash the MLB party. it's not the whole story.Here's Part B, and it's the truly scary bit for opposing pitchers: The power is merely the opening act in his hitting performance.As he stands on the doorstep of big league stardom, Jimenez looks like a player capable of not merely clearing the fences with regularity but also minimizing his strikeouts and maximizing his batting average.Think Aaron Judge melded with vintage Miguel Cabrera. Jimenez has yet to play a big league inning...but yes, we're going there.In 2013, MLB.com rated a 16-year-old Jimenez the top international prospect. In August of that year, he signed with the Chicago Cubs.In July 2017, the Cubs sent Jimenez to the crosstown Chicago White Sox in a deal that netted left-hander Jose Quintana and may soon haunt the Cubbies.Quintana logged a 3.74 ERA after the trade in 2017 and a 4.03 ERA on the North Side in 2018. Meanwhile, Jimenez is preparing for liftoff.In 2018, Jimenez split his time between the ChiSox's Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, where he combined for a .337/.384/.577 slash line. He turned 22 in November but has little left to prove in the minors."I look at him as the Babe Ruth of our generation," White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech told reporters Saturday. Hyperbole aside, it speaks to the deserved hype Jimenez is generating.Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated PressThe modern game has been defined by sluggers who strike out and go deep with regularity. In his 2017 Rookie of the Year campaign, Judge paced MLB with 208 whiffs but balanced the ledger with an American League-leading 52 long balls.What if a guy could replicate that pop while striking out less frequently and making more consistent contact?Jimenez teased that potential by striking out just 69 times in 456 plate appearances last season. Compare that to Judge's 152 strikeouts in 498 plate appearances in 2018.Maybe comparing MiLB stats to MLB stats is apples and oranges. How about this? In his age-22 season between Single-A and High-A in 2014, Judge struck out 131 times in 563 plate appearances. The contrast stands."I just try to hit the ball on the barrel," Jimenez told Knights TV in July, per Steve Lyttle of the Charlotte Observer.Is it really that simple? For him, apparently it is. Here, let's introduce some visual evidence. It's from 2017 and, to be fair http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authentic-orlando-arcia-jersey , from a High-A Home Run Derby, but it's always fun to watch a guy smash lights:In 2016, while playing in the Arizona Fall League, Jimenez smoked a 119.4 mph ground ball, the fifth-highest exit velocity ever recorded by Statcast at the time. Keep in mind, he was roughly a month shy of his 20th birthday.Jimenez rates as an average outfielder at best with moderate speed and a suspect throwing arm. His long-term future could be as a first baseman or designated hitter. Again, though, a guy with eye-opening power and impressive contact capabilities by the name of Miguel Cabrera carved out quite a career at those positions.The White Sox will almost certainly keep Jimenez down for a bit longer because of service-time considerations, even if he sets the exhibition slate on fire."He is going to be, in our opinion, a tremendous player for the White Sox for a long time, and we all think he's going to make a significant impact on this team this year and spend the bulk, if not all, of the season in Chicago," general manager Rick Hahn said, per Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. "When exactly that time starts remains to be seen."Read between the lines, and it's pretty obvious where this is headed. Just ask another Windy City star, Kris Bryant.Whenever Jimenez debuts, the baseball world will be watching. Can he translate his low-whiff, high-average, massive-power approach at the highest level and help redefine the modern slugger?Stay tuned...and prepare to pop your popcorn.All statistics courtesy of Baseball Reference. TOKYO (AP) — The magnitude of the moment — of sharing the field with the towering Ichiro Suzuki in his farewell — left Seattle Mariners teammate Yusei Kikuchi in reverential silence.Asked what that experience meant Jesus Aguilar Jersey , the Japanese rookie pitcher paused for a full minute.“Since spring training until now, Ichiro told us that it is a gift for him to play in Tokyo,” Kikuchi finally said through a translator Thursday night. “But for me, he gave me the greatest gift that I can play with him.”Ichiro was showered with cheers and chants while taking his final bow , and the Mariners sent him out with a win by beating the Oakland Athletics 5-4 in 12 innings.On the day Kikuchi pitched well in his big league debut, Ichiro concluded a magnificent career that lasted nearly three decades.The 45-year-old Ichiro went 0 for 4 in the second game of the Major League Baseball season. He got a chance at a storybook ending at the jammed Tokyo Dome when he came up with two outs, a runner on second base and a tie score in the eighth inning, but grounded out.Ichiro, whose pro career began in his homeland in 1992 when he was 18, took his spot in right field to begin the bottom of the eighth. He then was pulled to one more ovation, punctuating his walk with waves , tips of the hat and hugs as cameras flashed all around the park.Ichiro’s teammates met him outside the dugout for a proper send-off in a three-minute tribute. Kikuchi, who worked into the fifth inning, bowed to Ichiro — the 27-year-old lefty was tearing up as he buried his head into Ichiro’s shoulder.“For me it doesn’t get better than tonight,” Ichiro said through a translator. “Nothing can top what happened tonight for me.”In a fitting scene — a passing of the torch, possibly — Ichiro caught a flyball to end the fourth inning and Kikuchi waited for him outside the dugout for a fist bump. Kikuchi could be the next big star from Japan, having signed a contact in January that could be worth $109 million over seven years.“I enjoyed myself. I had fun. I wasn’t necessarily nervous. I didn’t shake. I was ready,” Kikuchi said. “I knew it was going to begin at the Tokyo Dome, where my journey as a major leaguer began.”“I wouldn’t say I was excellent, but I as able to play before the Japanese fans. I felt great support from them and I felt lucky.”Kikuchi became the first Japanese-born player to make his major league debut in Japan. Showing a firm fastball and sharp slider, he gave up four hits in 4 2/3 innings.Marcus Semien hit an RBI single on Kikuchi’s 91st and final pitch http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authentic-orlando-arcia-jersey , making it 3-1. Roenis Elias relieved and got Matt Chapman to hit a comebacker, but first baseman Jay Bruce dropped the throw, allowing a run to score that pulled the A’s within 3-2.Kikuchi, who went to the same high school as Los Angeles Angels two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani, signed with Seattle in January after pitching for the Seibu Lions in Japan.Effectively hiding the ball in his delivery, Kikuchi often kept Oakland batters off-balance while striking out three and walking one.Domingo Santana, who hit a grand slam in Seattle’s 9-7 win in the opener Wednesday, beat out a double-play relay with the bases loaded to drive in the go-ahead run in the 12th.Ryon Healy and Mitch Haniger homered for the Mariners, off to their first 2-0 start since opening 3-0 in 2014.Khris Davis hit a two-out, two-run single with the bases loaded in the Oakland seventh to make it 4-all. Davis led the majors with 48 home runs last year and homered Wednesday. Davis struck out with the bases loaded to end the 11th.“It was disappointing. We had our chances,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “I felt like a couple of times we had them on the ropes and had a chance to win the game, and we didn’t. So it’s frustrating.”“You don’t want to come here and lose two games,but we’ll regoup and take a few days off,” he said.Dee Gordon singled off losing pitcher Ryan Buchter to begin the Seattle 12th. He later scored on Santana’s one-out grounder when Semien and second baseman Jurickson Profar were slow on the turn.Zac Rosscup got the win and Hunter Strickland closed for his second save.Ichiro was all smiles as he greeted his teammates after the final out.A 10-time All-Star in the majors, Ichiro got 3,089 hits over a 19-year career in the big leagues after getting 1,278 hits while starring for nine seasons in Japan. His combined total of 4,367 is a professional record.Ichiro went 0 for 1 with a walk in Wednesday’s opener.A’s starter Marco Estrada allowed three runs in five innings.TRAINER’S ROOMMariners: 1B Daniel Vogelbach didn’t start, a day after being hit in the left elbow by a pitch.Athletics: Top A’s pitching prospect Jesus Luzardo will be shut down for four to six weeks because of a strained left shoulder. The 21-year-old was in the mix for a rotation spot.UP NEXTMariners: Back to spring training for the M’s. For the players who didn’t make the trip to Japan, there are exhibition games Thursday night in Arizona against the split-squad Reds and Friday night with the split-squad Angels. Seattle opens the regular season at home March 28 against the World Series champion Boston Red Sox.Athletics: The A’s get a couple days off before resuming exhibition play Sunday at the Coliseum vs. San Francisco. Oakland begins the regular season March 28 at home against Mike Trout and the Angels.