The Mets have shown they’re never afraid to push a middle infielder if they think he’s ready, and Gimenez has been the latest young player in the organization to be on that track. He cemented himself as one of the better shortstop prospects in the game in 2018, handling the Florida State League with aplomb before aggressive assignments to Double-A and the Arizona Fall League at the end of the year. We ranked him #50 overall on our recent Top 125 Prospect List entering 2019 despite his offensive struggles against older, more physical Fall League competition for Scottsdale, likely in part due to natural physical fatigue after a long season. The 20-year-old has struggled a bit in the early goings this year back at Double-A, but he’s one of the youngest players at the level and is showing the same tools, making us think he’ll adjust back to the Eastern League with more seasoning.

Gimenez doesn’t stand out physically at 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds, but he’s a live-bodied baseball athlete with twitch that shows on both sides of the ball. His best tools are on defense, where he’s a standout gloveman at shortstop with sure hands, easy actions, and a confident overall demeanor. He can finish throws on the run from different arm slots while also able to plant his feet and put a 60-grade arm to use when he has to. At the plate, Gimenez has a direct swing from the left-side that projects to at least hit for average with gap sting mixed in. There’s batspeed to dream a bit of over-the-fence power, but we’re probably squinting too hard to say he’s likely to be a 20+ home run shortstop. He barrels fastballs to all parts of the zone but shows less bat-to-ball on secondary stuff, especially against lefties.

There are still a handful of adjustments he’ll need to make before reaching New York, but at his age—and with Amed Rosario already in the fold at shortstop—there’s no need to rush Gimenez past this point until he’s ready. The defensive profile gives him a good chance to finish at least a glove-first everyday regular, with some chance to be more than that depending on how he develops offensively.