When Spencer Jones was initially called up in early May, it was solely because the New York Yankees needed an extra body for the injured Jasson Dominguez. After all, the Yankees had one of baseball’s best outfield trios at the time in Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, and Aaron Judge. Once Dominguez was healthy, Jones would be sent back down to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The Yankees did exactly that on May 22, as Jones struggled in 10 major league games. Across 24 plate appearances, the 25-year-old hit .167 with 12 strikeouts in 24 at-bats. However, his next Triple-A stint was short-lived.
The Yankees recalled him two weeks later due to Judge’s rib injury, a setback the three-time AL MVP has yet to return from. Three weeks later, Trent Grisham landed on the IL with a hamstring strain. The following month, Bellinger joined Grisham on the shelf with the same injury.
As if it couldn’t get worse, Heliot Ramos, one of the Yankees’ prized trade deadline acquisitions, has struggled in pinstripes. In 24 contests, Ramos has hit .145 with 24 strikeouts and -0.5 WAR. So, with seemingly no other outfield options, the Yankees gambled on their unproven rookie. Jones, however, has answered the call.
Jones’ Encouraging Rookie Season
Since June 1, a stretch spanning 59 games, Jones has hit .256 with nine home runs, 20 XBH, 28 RBI, and an .807 OPS. He’s also excelled between the basepaths, stealing eight bases in the process. The swing-and-miss concerns have lingered, with Jones’ 67 strikeouts equating to a strikeout rate north of 35 percent. However, he’s offset that mark with a 9.1 percent walk rate.
For Jones, his counting numbers don’t tell the full story. If qualified, his average exit velocity of 94.2 mph ranks third-best in the majors, as does his 56.4 percent hard-hit rate. He’s also finding the barrel at a 16.1 percent clip, a number that would put him top 10 in baseball.
The most surprising part of Jones’ season lies in his success against southpaws. Despite being a left-handed hitter, Jones has hit .205 against righties with a .662 OPS. However, against lefties, those marks balloon to .400 and 1.142.
Recent Success
With the Yankees in the thick of the American League playoff race, Jones has responded accordingly. Over the past 30 days, the former first-round pick is hitting .284 with four home runs, 17 RBI, and an .858 OPS. If the sample size shrinks to the past 15 days, those numbers rise to a .302 average and .866 OPS. Simply put, Jones has played his best baseball when it’s mattered the most.
Of course, there’s no guarantee he makes the team’s postseason roster, with Grisham and Judge both expected to return at some point. However, Jones has proved to be an exciting building block for the Yankees going forward.
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