While it's easy to think of Jimenez's season to date as somewhat disappointing after he helped lead the team to the World Series in 2007, there are several signs that not only is the disappointment theory unfounded, the opposite -that this season has actually been an encouraging step forward by U-ball is actually the case. Jimenez ranks #4 among all qualified MLB starters (Aaron Cook ranks #7) in GB % and his fastball velocity is tied for the top in the MLB with Tim Lincecum. While his walks are a little high, he's not showing nearly the wildness that he did in the minor leagues. In short, everything besides the hits and runs allowed says that Jimenez is on the cusp of being a top of the rotation pitcher. I expect the second half will only be better for him as part of the reason the hits and runs are so high is that there is some unluckiness with his BABIP, thus far. He gets to pitch against his idol growing up today, while any comparison to a future Hall of Famer is way beyond what we can know right now, let's hope that Jimenez shows some more signs today of at least being able to partially emulate Martinez's career.

Go Rockies!