Baseball America – July 02, 2019

51

AMERICAN LEAGUE

with Delmarva the following year tied for
the South Atlantic League lead, but his slash
line dropped to .266/.331/.369 as he adjust-
ed to full-season ball for the first time.
Britton managed McCoy at Delmarva and
now writes his name into the Bowie lineup.
He has seen the progression.
“I think the biggest thing with Mason
is the consistency that he’s finding,” said
Britton, the older brother of reliever Zack
Britton. “He’s really good at hitting the ball
to right field. And I think in today’s age
and all the shifting in the game and stuff
that people are doing, that’s one thing that
defenses don’t seem to take into account.”
—ROCH KUBATKO

BOSTON
RED SOX
Gilberto Jimenez arrived in professional
baseball in 2017 without distinction. He was
a righthanded-hitting outfielder who hadn’t
been part of the prospect showcase circuit
before signing with the Red Sox out of the
Dominican Republic for a mere $10,000.
Yet in his pro debut in the Dominican
Summer League, Jimenez rapidly emerged
as one of the most intriguing prospects in
the system.
He is an electrifying athlete with the
natural hand-eye coordination to jump into
switch-hitting on the fly and thrive while
doing so, as shown by his .319/.384/.420
slash line with 18 extra-base hits and 16
steals in 30 attempts in 67 games.
Though the 18-year-old Jimenez’s swing
remains less refined from the left side, he
still hit .350/.416/.478 from his that side in
his debut. Overall, he struck out at a modest
14.1 percent rate.
“Obviously (it) takes time to adjust
(to) seeing spin from different angles, let
alone feeling comfortable and competitive
mechanically,” assistant general manager
Eddie Romero said, “but our staff in addi-
tion to Jimenez himself are really encour-
aged.”
Jimenez is a powerful athlete with raw
strength, but for now his swing is geared
more for line drives than homers. Still, the
mere fact that he has shown the aptitude to
get the bat on the ball as a lefthanded hitter
offers a glimpse into a player capable of
learning quickly, something that hints at the
possibility for significant offensive growth.
Given Jimenez’s outstanding speed—he
earns at least a plus grade and some 70s
from scouts—and an above-average arm, he
has the potential for above-average defense
in center field or right. The Red Sox believe
he has above-average offensive potential
as well.
Jimenez likely will open 2019 with
short-season Lowell of the New York-Penn
League. A strong or even solid performance

there could vault him near the top of the

organization’s prospect ranking.

—ALEX SPEIER

CHICAGO

WHITE SOX

Michael Kopech and Dane Dunning are

out for the season after having Tommy John

surgery. Alec Hansen is back pitching out

of the bullpen after being hampered by a

strained right forearm last year.

All in all, the organization’s minor league

pitching depth has been severely tested,

but lefthander Konnor Pilkington is help-

ing to ease some of the sting.

The 2018 third-round pick pitched 102.2

innings as a junior at Mississippi State

before signing with the White Sox. That

heavy workload in his final year of college

may help explain his inauspicious pro

debut.

Throwing a combined 14 innings in the

Rookie-level Arizona and Pioneer leagues,

Pilkington gave up 11 earned runs on 21

hits and five walks in 14 innings before shut-

ting it down for the rest of the season. The

21-year-old grabbed some much-needed

rest over the winter and returned ready to

go for spring training.

“The offseason definitely did me well,”

Pilkington said. “I feel stronger than ever. I

feel more flexible. I feel really just refreshed.

Going through spring training and mini-

camp and through the beginning of the

regular season, I feel like I did on Day One.

There’s no fatigue or anything. I’m just

steady rolling.”

And steady rising.

Pilkington opened the season with low

Class A Kannapolis and went 1-0, 1.62 in six

starts while striking out 42 hitters in 33.1

innings. The impressive debut earned the

6-foot-3, 225-pound southpaw a promotion

to high Class A Winston-Salem on May 11. In

addition to being recharged, a refined pitch

helped Pilkington make a quick jump up the

minor league ladder.

“During spring training, we really worked

on trying to develop a better changeup,” he

said. “I feel like I’ve really got a handle on

that now.”

Pilkington’s fastball is the offering that

helped make him such a high draft pick, but

his full arsenal of pitches—in addition to his

fastball—will be the key to his continued

success.

“My thing is just being able to get ahead

and being able to move my fastball in and

out,” he said. “Lately, I’ve been really suc-

cessful at riding the fastball in and up later

in the count. The big thing is getting ahead

of hitters. That’s what I’m trying to do, get

ahead of the hitters quick and as often as

possible.”

—SCOT GREGOR

CLEVELAND

INDIANS

Repeating a level isn't ideal, especially

first-round draft picks. But 21-year-old out-

fielder Will Benson was trying to make the

most of his situation.

After hitting an uninspiring .180 at low

Class A Lake County last year, the 14th over-

all pick in 2016 out of Atlanta’s Westminster

High was sent back to the Midwest League

this year.

The results have been much better.

Benson slammed a MWL-best 22 home

runs a year ago and had already notched 10

through 39 games this year, while hitting

.266/.356/.552 and stealing 14 bases.

It didn’t take long for the lefthanded-hit-

ting Benson to show that he had put his

disappointing 2018 season behind him. On

April 18, he launched four homers in a game

against South Bend.

“Last year was not in vain,” Lake County

manager Luke Carlin said. “The three

factors we consider for hitters are tactical,

technical and psychological. Will has goals

in all three areas and he’s working hard to

achieve all of them.”

When the Indians drafted Benson, he was

viewed as a big (6-foot-5, 215 pounds), fast,

strong athletic player, with plenty of upside,

but with a swing that needed some refine-

ment. The swing adjustments have taken

longer than expected.

Benson hit .209 in the Rookie-level

Arizona League in 2016 and .238 at

short-season Mahoning Valley in 2017.

Through it all, the one constant has been

Benson’s work ethic.

“I’m pretty hard on myself,” Benson said.

“I thank the Indians from the bottom of my

heart for being patient with me. I’m working

my tail off.”

“It’s super exciting to watch him hit it

hard and far, but Will can really run, too,”

Carlin said. “If the opportunity is there to

take the extra base, he’ll take it.”

—JIM INGRAHAM

DETROIT

TIGERS

A year after the Tigers drafted lefthander

Tarik Skubal in the ninth round in 2018,

he has opened eyes as a pitcher with the

potential to join top prospects Casey Mize

and Matt Manning as the southpaw com-

plement in a future rotation.

“In his first year after the draft, at an

advanced level like (high Class A) Lakeland,

he’s put up real good numbers,” vice

president of player development Dave

Littlefield said. “He’s commanding his pitch-

es and using three pitches very effectively.”

Through 12 starts with the Flying Tigers,

Skubal had posted a 3.08 ERA and 1.01

WHIP. Most impressively, he had struck out

72 batters in 61.1 innings.

Skubal was drafted out of Seattle

University and made an immediate impres-

sion last season, dominating his way from

CONTINUED ON PAGE 52

Indians outfielder Will Benson oozes power and speed, which he was optimizing as he repeated the Midwest League.