GLENDALE, Ariz. — Seated in Chicago, far away from the White Sox spring training complex where he regularly roams around imparting his Hall of Fame advice, Jim Thome jumped on a question about which prospects have stood out to him like it was a high changeup.



“Eloy [Jimenez]. I love Eloy,” Thome blurted out. “I think Eloy has a chance to be really special, as much as a lot of the others. To me as a hitter, the offensive side of the game, I know, we can throw [Michael] Kopech out there because of his arm and his presence and on down the line, but to me, I just love this kid Eloy. How he approaches the game, where he’s at, from a mechanical, fundamental point in the game.”



Jimenez is an elite prospect, ranked in the top 10 by seemingly every major outlet, but no higher than fourth, which seems to be the upper limit of where experts are willing to rank someone on the strength of their offensive value alone, unless it’s a...