A little over a year ago, we had Jimmy Rollins on our XM show, and I asked him if there were any young pitchers he thought were particularly tough that people should know about. He mentioned Jimenez, saying, that he throws a "heavy sinker and you really have work to get the ball in the air with him."

I was dubious because Rollins was talking about a Coors Field pitcher, and maybe this was just a guy who gave |STAR|him|STAR| trouble. But apparently he knew what he was talking about.

Jimenez had an amazing stat line last year even if you ignore where he pitches his home games. He had a 7.9 K/9 with a 1.88 GB/FB ratio. No other starter in baseball had more than 7.5 K/9 with more than 1.8 GB/FB. Brandon Webb, A.J. Burnett, Roy Halladay and Felix Hernandez are the only other starters who come close. The ability to induce ground balls and miss bats is rare, Moreover, Jimenez incredibly allowed just 11 homers in 198.2 IP, eight of which came at Coors. But despite that, he was actually better at home, displaying better command and getting a bit lucky on BABIP. He still walks too many batters, but he'll erase some of those with double plays and strikeouts, and they less often come back to haunt him because he limits the long ball.

As for his start last night, the Diamondbacks were impressed to say the least. According to third baseman Mark Reynolds:

He throws 97 [mph] and it runs. He may paint a pitch on you and then drop his curveball or slider in. He's tough. It just wasn't our night."

Given his control problems and home park, Jimenez is still far from a sure thing. But if anyone can overcome those handicaps it's a pitcher who throws in the high-90s with movement while keeping the ball down.