You couldn't have written it any better.
Coming into the weekend, Eloy Jimenez had one at-bat during spring training as he waited, sidelined with an injury, for his return to the White Sox Cactus League lineup.
Well he came back Saturday, filling in as a pinch-hitter late in the White Sox game against the Cubs, the team that traded Jimenez to the other side of town last summer.
And what did Jimenez do in his first at-bat back while facing his former organization? He hit a go-ahead, two-run homer.
Because of course he did.
Now this is spring training, and the results mean nothing. Heck, the game ended in a 4-all tie. But how wild is this? Jimenez returns from weeks away from game action, only to blast a clutch homer against the team that gave him up in last year's Jose Quintana deal? That's poetry in motion right there.
Jimenez, the top-ranked prospect in the White Sox organization and the No. 4 prospect in all of baseball, has a ways to go until he's doing that kind of thing in big league games that count. With just 18 games above the Class A level under his belt, he figures to start the year at Double-A Birmingham. Fans are anxious to know when he'll reach the South Side, but general manager Rick Hahn has cautioned that a good developmental season for Jimenez might include him not reaching the bigs at all. And things would be just fine for the 21-year-old outfielder.
MLB
But Hahn has also said that the great ones have a tendency to push their way to the majors and change the timeline. Jimenez could certainly fall into that category, as well.
So on a day when the rebuild saw another challenge — Luis Robert will be out of action for approximately 10 weeks thanks to a thumb injury — it also saw another glimpse of the future.
Jimenez homers? Against the Cubs? You couldn't have written it any better.