Eloy Jimenez busts a light in Carolina League HR Derby

Chicago Cubs prospect Eloy Jimenez channeled his inner Roy Hobbs and drove a home run into a light tower on Monday night.

“Light-tower power” is a commonly-used baseball scouting expression that is hardly ever more than a hyperbolic means of saying that a player can hit the ball really, really far. On Monday night, Cubs prospect Eloy Jimenez showcased actual light-tower power in the Carolina League’s annual Home Run Derby.

As if in a scene out of “The Natural,” Jimenez drove a pitch deep into the night sky. As the ball flew upward, a small pop could be heard deep in left field, followed by a small explosion of light. Jimenez had nailed one of the bulbs on the light tower.

It is impossible to say how far the ball would have gone, but the light tower has to be at least 30 feet above the ground. Jimenez’s home run had even the most veteran baseball men picking their jaws up off the ground.

"“He hit one over the lights before that one,” said Carolina League South manager Buddy Bailey, who also coaches Jimenez at Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach. “It looked like [Robert] Redford in The Natural. All the kids got against the wall as if they could catch it, then looked and ran like crazy to get away from the glass falling.”"

Jimenez is dominating the Carolina League at the age of 20 and has drawn comparisons to Giancarlo Stanton with his statuesque frame. In 28 games this year he is batting .278/.381/.546 with seven home runs. Last year, Jimenez batted .329/.369/.532 with 40 doubles and 14 home runs at Class-A. His approach at the plate this year has been much more disciplined.

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With their starting rotation struggling this year and the surprising Milwaukee Brewers continuing to lead the NL Central, the Cubs may be forced to decide how best to use Jimenez, who is still at least two years away from being ready for the big leagues. The Tampa Bay Rays might be convinced to let go of former Cubs farmhand Chris Archer in return for Jimenez, MLB’s number-eight overall prospect. Regardless of who he plays for when he comes up, Eloy Jimenez will continue sending baseballs into the stratosphere for our enjoyment.