Mets' Gimenez claims Fall League batting crown
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MESA, Ariz. -- The hits kept coming for Mets infield prospect Andres Gimenez during his six weeks in the Arizona Fall League and they didn’t stop through the last day of the season.
On Friday, the Scottsdale Scorpions shortstop had two hits to up his batting average to .371 in 18 games to win the league’s batting title in a 3-0 loss to the Mesa Solar Sox at Sloan Park in the season finale for both teams.
Gimenez, the club’s No. 3 prospect, also collected five doubles, two triples and hit two home runs during his 70 AFL at-bats. He drove in 15 runs.
“It feels really good and I’m super excited,” Gimenez, 21, said. “I’m happy for the results and I’ll keep grinding.”
Phillies top prospect Alec Bohm, Gimenez’s teammate, finished second to Gimenez in the race with a .361 batting average. The third baseman missed the last three games of AFL action while training with Team USA for the upcoming Premier12 that starts a week from Saturday.
“[Gimenez] had a great season and I’m happy for him,” Scorpions manager Cesar Martin said. “He worked hard since Day 1 and spent a lot of time with the hitting coach [Danny Santiesteban]. Once the games started, he put a lot of good at-bats together and he should feel good about himself. He finished really strong.”
Gimenez had at least one hit in all but three games in Arizona Fall League play and had 10 multihit games. He racked up 13 hits in his final seven games to secure the title.
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On Friday, he hit a single to right field in the first inning. In the sixth, he hit a double to left field to secure the batting title.
“My approach at the plate was basically to keep it simple,” Gimenez said. “I tried to hit the ball the other way and used all fields. I enjoyed every moment with my teammates and enjoyed the game. I had fun every time.”
Last year, Gimenez hit .125 in 48 at-bats in 19 Arizona Fall League games. He went on to slash .250/.309/.387 in 117 games for Double-A Binghamton. He also hit nine homers and drove in 37 runs.
So far, the Mets have not determined if Gimenez will return to Double-A or start the season at Triple-A Syracuse in 2020. What’s certain is that the young infielder will enter Spring Training with momentum on his side.
“It feels good and I have a lot of confidence, but at the same time, I’ll continue with the same work ethic and same passion every day,” he said. “We enjoyed this season and had fun.”