Leo Jiménez

Leonardo Joel Jiménez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 215 lb.

• Debut July 4, 2024

• Born May 17, 2001 in Chitre, Herrera Panama

BR page

Biographical Information

Infielder Leo Jiménez was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays as an international amateur free agent from Panama on July 2, 2017, during that year's international signing window. He began his pro career in 2018 with the GCL Blue Jays where he hit .250/.333/.341 in 37 games at age 17. In 2019, he played mainly with the Bluefield Blue Jays of the Appalachian League, for 56 games, but also made two appearances with the Lansing Lugnuts of the Midwest League. His combined line was .294/.372/.371 in 58 games.

Like almost all of the players from his generation, Leo then lost a full season to the COVID-19 pandemic as the minor leagues were shut down and he could not obtain one of the precious few golden tickets to work out with the team's top prospects at the Jays' alternate training site. He resumed his playing career in 2021 when he played mostly with the Dunedin Blue Jays of what was called that year only the Low-A Southeast, also going back to the FCL Blue Jays for five games on what was a rehabilitation assignment. In Dunedin, he hit .316 in 54 games. 2022 was another shortened season, this one lasting just 69 games with the Vancouver Canadians of the Northwest League as his season ended prematurely in mid-August due to another injury. His batting line was his worst thus far, at .230/.340/.385, although his 6 homers and 40 RBIs, both his best totals by far, hinted that he was gaining some power as he was getting older. He was still only 21 though, so he had yet to reach his full potential.

2023 was the year that turned Leo from an interesting player to a real prospect. He was named to the Eastern League post-season Al-Star team after hitting .287 in 76 games for the AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats, with 8 homers and 44 RBIs. At the end of that season, he was promoted to the AAA Buffalo Bisons where he played another 18 games. He found the going in AAA to be tougher, as he batted just .191 without a home run and only 3 RBIs. He started 2024 back in Buffalo and after 57 games was hitting .271 with 7 homers and 23 RBIs. He was mainly the team's starting shortstop, with another top prospect, Orelvis Martinez, at second base. Martinez was ahead of him on the organization's depth chart and was the one called up to Toronto in mid-June when starting shortstop Bo Bichette had to go on the injured list for a short spell. However, as fate would have it, the results of a positive test for a banned substance were made public two days after Martinez had made his big league debut, and Martinez was assessed an 80-game suspension. This meant that when another starting infielder for the Jays, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, went down with an injury on July 2nd, Martinez was unavailable to help, and it was Leo who got the call to the Rogers Centre.

He made his major league debut on July 4, 2024, starting at shortstop for the Blue Jays against the Houston Astros and batting eighth. In his first big league at-bat, he struck out against Framber Valdez, then drew a walk in his next plate appearance before being replaced by a pinch-hitter in the 7th inning. His first big league hit came in his next start, on July 7th, off George Kirby of the Seattle Mariners. He ended up as the Jays' regular shortstop over the second half, after Kiner-Falefa was traded and Bichette returned to the injured list. He received all of that playing time because he exceeded expectations both with his bat and his defensive play. On September 1st, he made one of the most spectacular catches of the year when he dove into the netting down the first base line to catch a foul ball by Max Kepler of the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. He fell completely into the stands but still held on to the ball to record the out, and while at first he appeared to have hurt himself, he stayed in the game after being looked over by the training staff.

Further Reading

• Patrick Donnelly: "Headfirst into the netting?! This may be the wildest catch of 2024", mlb.com, September 1, 2024. [1]

Related Sites

• Leo Jimenez on mlb.com
• BR Minors page