Enrique Jimenez Scouting Report

Enrique Jimenez Scouting Report

Background: Enrique Jimenez is a native Venezuelan who signed with the Tigers in January 2023. A switch-hitting catcher, he received the largest bonus of any player in Detroit’s 2022 international free agent class. He debuted in the Dominican Summer League, batting .277/.388/.418 over 46 games. Jimenez made his U.S. debut in 2024, maintaining his solid offensive performance over 43 games in the Florida Complex League.

Physical description: Jimenez is listed at 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, and he looks every bit that short and stocky. He’s muscular rather than rotund, but it doesn’t appear he has much more room to add good mass. He shows a simple operation from both sides of the plate, with his hands at shoulder height, a minimal load, and a small toe tap. He does open up a little early, with a bit of a bucket step.

Hit: 30

Jimenez shows hitterish traits right now, with a nice looking swing and impressive feel for the barrel, but there’s still plenty of work to be done. There’s a relatively mature approach here, but he still swings and misses a bit too much. And Jimenez hits the ball on the ground far too often, with a 52% groundball rate in 2024.

Power: 40

There’s surprising strength in Jimenez’s short frame, and he makes a lot of hard contact for a player his age. He’ll need to lift the ball more to take advantage of that, and even if he does he seems unlikely to get much stronger. Still, he should be good for double-digit home runs and a lot of gap doubles in his prime.

Run: 40

Jimenez moves surprisingly well for a young catcher, but that seems unlikely given the wear and tear of the position.

Defense: 50

Jimenez saw a 60-40 timeshare between catcher and first base in 2024, but that’s more about getting other backstops reps than Jimenez’s future role. He has to continue refining every aspect of his defense, but he should grow into at least an average defensive catcher in time.

Arm: 50

Jimenez has an average arm with good accuracy and a quick release.

Overall: There’s obviously still a long road of development ahead for the 19-year-old Jimenez, but he boasts a well-rounded skillset that gives him a chance to become a big leaguer one day. We’re probably talking about a backup role, and there’s still a strong chance he tops out as a strong org catcher in the mold of Eliezer Alfonzo, but there’s enough here to dream on him developing into a regular backstop.