Oregon State transfer pitcher Aiden Jimenezremains ahead of schedule for Arkansas as he works back from Tommy John surgery.
Expected to be part of Oregon State's starting rotation last spring, Jimenez was unable to pitch at all due to a torn UCL that required surgery. The right-hander appeared in 22 games and posted a 5.68 ERA with 35 strikeouts and seven walks as a freshman in 2023.
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When Jimenez committed to the Razorbacks and head coach Dave Van Horn back in June, it was unclear whether or not the 6-foot-3, 215-pound redshirt sophomore would be available to pitch this spring.
After not participating during the fall schedule, Jimenez was one of eight pitchers to throwFriday afternoon during an intrasquad scrimmage at Baum-Walker Stadium, which was the Diamond Hogs' first live action this year. The Elk Grove, California, native gave up a solo home run to freshman Gabe Fraser, but struck out the other three batters he faced in a rather impressive one inning of action.
"Throws the ball downhill," Van Horn told reporters Friday. "Made one mistake and he got hammered. Other than that, he was really good. He's got a wipeout breaking ball. He didn't even throw his split-finger, which is nasty. Fastball has got a lot of natural tumble sink on it. Everybody is really excited for him. He's a super kid, hard worker and he'll be valuable."
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Van Horn said they didn't initially know in the fall whether or not Jimenez would even be ready to pitch by Opening Day on Feb. 14, but it became clear a couple months back that it was possible.
"We weren't sure when we got him to sign with us even to the (point where) the verbage was basically if you're not ready to pitch this year, we'll get you ready for next year," Van Horn said. "The kid's an incredible worker. I mean, he's not even 12 months out of Tommy John and he's got good stuff. We knew a couple months ago that he was going to be ready for this season."
Jimenez was sitting around 93 miles per hour on his fastball Friday, which was a cold afternoon in Fayetteville, but the righty can reportedly get up to 96 miles per hour. It's safe to say that he would be very useful for an already loaded Arkansas pitching staff.
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"If we can get him back to where he was at Oregon State, we’ll have a jewel, so to speak," Van Horn said Jan. 15. "His role right now would be, I guess it would be wide open. He was a starter there. He could be, probably could be a middle reliever for us to start out, just to see what he could do.
"He was someone that we were hoping we could get him, maybe middle of the season, but it looks like he might be ready more toward the beginning of the season to help us. He’s way ahead of schedule for the surgery he had."
Arkansas will open its season Friday, Feb. 14, against Washington State at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.
