A closer look at baseball’s next wave of young talent

CHICAGO (AP) — Family ties http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-curtis-granderson-jersey , big bats and powerful arms are once again all over this year’s group of prospects on the brink of major league stardom.OF Eloy Jimenez, Chicago White Sox: While Chicago lost out in its pursuit of Manny Machado in free agency, the sweet-swinging Jimenez could make his major league debut in April. The 22-year-old Jimenez hit .317 with 10 homers and 42 RBIs with Double-A Birmingham last year before he was promoted to Triple-A Charlotte. He was even better with the Knights, batting .355 with 12 homers and 33 RBIs in 55 games. He struggled in spring training and was sent down, but should be in the bigs soon enough.—INF Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays: Widely regarded as baseball’s top prospect, Guerrero will miss the start of the season after he strained his right oblique in spring training. The son of Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero might head straight to the majors when he gets healthy. He hit .381 with 20 home runs and 78 RBIs over four minor league stops last year.—OF Victor Robles, Washington Nationals: Bryce Harper’s big free agent deal with Philadelphia created an opening in Washington’s outfield that just might be filled by the talented Robles, who hit .288 with three homers and 10 RBIs in 21 games with the Nationals last season.—INF/OF Nick Senzel, Cincinnati Reds: The 23-year-old Senzel got a long look in center field this spring after the Reds let Billy Hamilton go over the winter. He played mostly second and third in the minors, but the former University of Tennessee star is known mostly for his bat. He hit .310 with 25 RBIs in 44 games with Triple-A Louisville in 2018.—RHP Forrest Whitley and OF Kyle Tucker, Houston Astros: The 6-foot-7 Whitley dazzled in the Arizona Fall League, compiling a 2.42 ERA in six starts and striking out 36 in 26 innings. The 22-year-old Tucker struggled in his first major league action last year, batting .141 in 28 games, but he hit .332 for Triple-A Fresno.Whitley and Tucker will begin the year in the minors, but they could impact the AL West race this summer. Whitley was the No. 17 pick in the 2016 draft, a year after Tucker went No. 5 overall to the Astros.—INF Brendan Rodgers, Colorado Rockies: The versatile Rodgers started at second, third and shortstop this spring, and it looks as if he could make his big league debut very soon. He batted .268 with 17 homers and 67 RBIs for Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque last year.—OF Alex Verdugo Justin Smoak Jersey , Los Angeles Dodgers: The 22-year-old Verdugo played for Los Angeles in each of the past two years, but is still trying to earn regular time with the talented Dodgers. This could be the year after he hit .329 with 10 homers and 44 RBIs in 91 games for Triple-A Oklahoma City last season.—INF Keston Hiura, Milwaukee Brewers: Hiura worked on his defensive skills this spring. His bat might be major league ready right now. The ninth overall pick in the 2017 draft was the MVP of the Arizona Fall League, hitting .323 with five homers and 33 RBIs in 23 games.—LHP Yusei Kikuchi, Seattle Mariners: Following in the footsteps of Ichiro Suzuki, one of his childhood favorites, Kikuchi finalized a four-year contract with Seattle in January that guarantees $56 million and incudes club options that would be make it worth $109 million over seven seasons. The 27-year-old lefty went 14-4 with a 3.08 ERA for the Pacific League’s Seibu Lions last year.—SS Fernando Tatis, Jr., San Diego Padres: The 20-year-old Tatis is so highly regarded Manny Machado agreed to play third for San Diego to make room for the shortstop’s arrival in the big leagues. Tatis, who was acquired in a 2016 trade that sent James Shields to the White Sox, batted .286 with 16 homers and 43 RBIs for Double-A San Antonio last season.—LHP Jesus Luzardo, Oakland Athletics: The hard-throwing Luzardo made a strong bid for a spot in Oakland’s rotation this spring. He went 10-5 with a 2.88 ERA over three minor league stops last year, finishing with 129 strikeouts in 109 1/3 innings. PHOENIX (AP) — The White Sox confirmed Tuesday what a $43 million contract seemed to signal: Eloy Jimenez will begin the season in the major leagues.Chicago’s prize prospect will make his big league debut on opening day at Kansas City on Thursday. Signed as a teenager by the crosstown Cubs out of the Dominican Republic in 2013, Jimenez is one of baseball’s most promising youngsters — and one with historic financial security.“It’s amazing. I feel really proud of the work I have done,” Jimenez said. “It’s a dream all the players want, to break with the team in spring training.”The White Sox announced Jimenez had made the team following a 7-1 exhibition win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Jimenez was sent to minor league camp two weeks ago and was unlikely to crack the opening day roster until agreeing to a $43 million, six-year contract Friday, the largest deal ever for a rostered player with no service time. The deal, which also includes team options for 2025 and 2026, took away Chicago’s incentive to stash Jimenez at Triple-A for a few weeks and delay his potential free agency.Jimenez http://www.bluejaysfanproshop.com/authentic-curtis-granderson-jersey , 22, hit .243 with two doubles, two homers and six RBIs in 37 at-bats this spring. He started in left field the last two games and is expected to see regular time there. He hit. 337 with 22 homers and 75 RBIs in 108 games between Double-A and Triple-A last season. The White Sox acquired him in a package from the Cubs for left-hander Jose Quintana at the 2017 trade deadline.Jimenez received a $5 million signing bonus as part of the deal and will make $1 million in 2019, $1.5 million in 2020, $3.5 million in 2021, $6.5 million in 2022, $9.5 million in 2023 and $13 million in 2024. The White Sox have a $16.5 million option with a $3 million buyout in 2025 and an $18.5 million option with a $3 million buyout in 2026.If he has Tommy John surgery at any time through 2026, the White Sox have the right to retain Jimenez for 2027 at $18.5 million.If Jimenez wins an MVP award during the first six years, the 2026 or ’27 option would increase by $2.5 million, and if he finishes second or third the option price would go up by $1.5 million.Jimenez also would get a $100,000 bonus for winning an MVP, $90,000 for second, $90,000 for third, $70,000 for fourth and $60,000 for fifth. He would get $25,000 for starting the All-Star Game, $15 Aaron Sanchez Jersey ,000 for selection as an All-Star reserve, $25,000 for a Gold Glove, $15,000 for a Silver Slugger, $50,000 for becoming a Sporting News All-Star, $75,000 for League Championship Series MVP and $100,000 for World Series MVP.If the White Sox had chosen to keep him in the minor leagues for the first 20 days of this season, his free agent eligibility would have been pushed back a year, until after the 2025 season.Jose Abreu, Daniel Palka and Welington Castillo doubled and right-hander Ivan Nova gave up one hit and one run in three innings for the White Sox on Tuesday. Nova struck out three and did not walk a batter. He is scheduled to start the fourth game of the regular season at Cleveland on Monday.Jake Lamb had two hits and homered for the second straight game and Merrill Kelly gave up nine hits and six runs in 5 2/3 innings, with one strikeout and one walk for Arizona. Kelly is scheduled to pitch the fifth game of the regular season at San Diego on Monday.TRAINER’S ROOMWhite Sox: Jon Jay (hip) missed seven days before returning to the field Sunday, and the team was still deciding whether to place him on the injured list for the start of the regular season.Diamondbacks: LHP T.J. McFarland (shoulder) and RHP Taijuan Walker (elbow) will open on the injured list. Walker is at least a month away, manager Torey Lovullo said, after undergoing Tommy John surgery last April 25.UP NEXTWhite Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon is set to face Kansas City right-hander Brad Keller in the season opener for both teams in Kansas City on Thursday.Diamondbacks right-hander Zack Greinke will face Dodgers left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu on opening day at Dodger Stadium on Thursday.