Jorge Castillo
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Whereas commerce deadline rumors swirl within the Bronx, the way forward for the New York Yankees — or no less than their subsequent week — is enjoying out 350 miles northwest of Yankee Stadium.
Spencer Jones, the most popular hitter within the minor leagues, is honing his craft for the Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders as they go to the Rochester Pink Wings on the industrial metropolis’s downtown ballpark. In the meantime, the large league membership is again house after dropping a three-game set to the first-place Toronto Blue Jays three hours throughout the border.
With the stress mounting on baseball’s marquee franchise, Jones (and the remainder of the baseball world) wonders the place he’ll be on Aug. 1.
Most years within the Bronx, the noise to name up Jones for his main league debut would have reached a deafening decibel degree properly earlier than he clubbed three house runs in 5 innings in Thursday’s matinee. The 6-foot-7 toolsy middle fielder is batting .400 with 13 house runs and a 1.403 OPS in 19 video games since his promotion to the RailRiders on June 27. The mix of Yankee Stadium’s quick porch and Jones’ monster energy from the left aspect is the stuff of Bleacher Creature goals.
“I’ve by no means seen something prefer it earlier than,” RailRiders supervisor Shelley Duncan informed ESPN earlier than his staff’s 7-1 loss to the Pink Wings on Tuesday snapped an 11-game profitable streak. “I’ve by no means seen a participant this proficient earlier than in my life.”
However Jones’ current outburst hasn’t impressed the everyday pleas for promotion. First, as a result of he is not a match within the Yankees’ clunky roster development, which already has too many outfielders worthy of enjoying day-after-day. Second, his most obvious flaw — a propensity to whiff at an alarming charge — has tempered expectations. As an alternative, his breakout, coupled with the main league staff’s clear wants elsewhere, has rendered Jones a central topic of commerce hypothesis as July 31 approaches and created a deadline dilemma for the Yankees.
Briefly, has the 24-year-old Jones’ stellar season made him too precious to commerce?
“It is quite a lot of enjoyable this time of 12 months, only for baseball followers basically, proper?” Jones informed ESPN. “I’ve buddies all around the nation which can be wanting me to go and play for his or her staff. However my coronary heart’s right here with this group. I have been having quite a lot of enjoyable being a Yankee to this point in my profession. And you are taking the whole lot with a grain of salt. It is a part of it, a part of the season and I am excited to see how issues go transferring ahead.”
Yankees common supervisor Brian Cashman didn’t mince phrases earlier this month when he outlined his objectives for the deadline. He desires to amass beginning pitching to bolster a rotation that misplaced Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt for the season. He desires to improve a bullpen that lacks sturdy depth. And he desires an infielder, ideally somebody to exchange Oswald Peraza and his 24 wRC+ at third base.
“We will city,” Cashman stated.
Till late final month, going to city seemingly meant making Jones — and each different participant within the Yankees’ farm system not named George Lombard Jr. — accessible in trades.
Rival executives imagine Lombard, a 20-year-old shortstop in Double-A and the lone Yankee on ESPN MLB insider Kiley McDaniel’s most up-to-date prime 50 prospects listing, is actually untouchable in talks. In any other case, it was open season on the proper worth.
The Yankees have a number of prospects different groups covet, predominantly pitchers. Proper-handed starters Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, Bryce Cunningham, Carlos Lagrange, Ben Hess and Cam Schlittler are all extremely regarded. Triple-A catchers Jesus Rodriguez and Rafael Flores, who homered in his third sport on the degree on Tuesday, are among the many others they may transfer to plug holes.
Of that group, solely the 24-year-old Schlittler has reached the majors. A former seventh-round decide, Schlittler has thrown the ten quickest pitches by a Yankee this season, touching 100 mph whereas posting a 4.35 ERA in his first two begins. Cashman should resolve if he is a part of the staff’s instant future or a commerce candidate to enhance the Yankees’ 2025 World Collection probabilities.
Cashman should additionally resolve if Jones’ current play is sufficient to take him off the desk in commerce talks or has merely made it the proper second to deal him.
“I might solely think about that there is individuals which can be pondering that,” Duncan stated. “However if you wish to have a look at it like a tear, if you wish to say it is a tear that he is on, you may suppose it is a good time to commerce him. I believe the individual we’re seeing proper now could be who he’s.”
If the Yankees hold Jones, they may commerce from their surplus of left-handed-hitting place gamers already within the majors, maybe making a spot for Jones to fill this season earlier than entering into an on a regular basis position in 2026.
“My intuition is, no, they will not [trade him],” an American League scout stated. “They will not must.”
There are many causes to maintain him. Jones boasts velocity you would not anticipate from somebody his measurement. He is a ok defender who might stay in middle discipline on the subsequent degree. He possesses an innate capacity to hit baseballs exhausting within the air to all fields that, alongside together with his measurement, has drawn comparisons to Aaron Decide. He is batting .314 with a 1.116 OPS in 68 video games between Double-A and Triple-A this season. His 29 house runs lead the minors. And he would arrive in New York with six full seasons of staff management.
However with that top-tier pop comes a obvious shortcoming that considerations expertise evaluators: An unsettling tendency to whiff on pitches since earlier than the Yankees chosen him within the first spherical out of Vanderbilt in 2022.
Jones compiled a 33.7% strikeout charge in Double-A final season. This 12 months, it is decreased barely to 31.7% between Double-A and Triple-A. For context, that charge can be tied for fourth worst amongst certified main -league hitters with Colorado Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon, a possible Yankees commerce goal.
Jones’ 37.4% whiff charge in 83 Triple-A plate appearances would rank second-highest within the majors amongst certified hitters between the Rockies’ Michael Toglia, a 6-5 first baseman with a .197 batting common and .624 OPS, and Decide, the 6-7 AL MVP frontrunner. His 74.8% contact charge on pitches within the strike zone would rank second-lowest between San Francisco Giants slugger Rafael Devers and Toglia.
The strikeout considerations have made Jones a polarizing prospect within the trade.
“He has tons of swing and miss,” a Nationwide League government stated. “When you might have important contact points within the minor leagues, that is very scary. To me, he is not a premium, premium prospect. He is an attention-grabbing participant with some upside.”
“He is a legit prospect,” an American League government argued. “However being 24 in Double-A with a 33% strikeout charge is not nice.”
Mentioned a Nationwide League expertise evaluator: “There is no assure when a man swings and misses as a lot as he does. However the energy is particular and the upside is apparent. So I believe he is a legit prospect of curiosity, however that is not likely a departure from his prospect standing.”
Jones’ profile has drawn comparisons to the 6-5 Joey Gallo, as soon as a premier defensive outfielder with enormous energy, excessive strikeout numbers, and a .194 profession batting common who made two All-Star groups over 10 main league seasons.
Decide, a lofty comparability based mostly on their apparent measurement and energy traits, compiled 373 strikeouts in 1,510 plate appearances within the minors, amounting to a 24.7% charge, earlier than making his main league debut in 2016. He tallied 208 strikeouts in his first full season in 2017, hasn’t amassed greater than 175 in a season since then and has a 27.8% profession strikeout charge.
“Traditionally, data-wise, these numbers normally ship pink flags out and will not be numbers that individuals see quite a lot of enchancment on or large enhancements on,” Duncan stated. “However if you dive deeper and also you begin making an attempt to determine why the misses are the place they’re and perhaps the strategy, swing ideas he had, you may put collectively a puzzle and work out methods to get rid of a few of it. I believe that a number of the changes that we’re seeing occur proper now are promising.”
Jones has applied appreciable swing modifications since ending final season with Double-A Somerset. He is labored on eradicating extra motion to higher acknowledge pitches and permit his athleticism to circulation. He is opened his stance since spring coaching, crouching low and utilizing a excessive leg kick to activate a extra streamlined swing that launches as soon as his foot lands and resembles the tight rotation central to Decide’s mechanics.
Scranton hitting coach Mike Mergenthaler stated he believes Jones has made encouraging enhancements within the space, notably in combating pitches excessive within the zone, however acknowledged a excessive swing-and-miss charge will in all probability stay in Jones’ profile. He pointed to Jones’ elite common bat velocity of near 80 mph — Statcast considers a swing 75 mph or above to be quick — as a characteristic that can inevitably produce whiffs.
“Simplicity and the bliss that comes with that,” Jones stated when requested what he has realized this season. “I believe simply aligning the thoughts and physique in a approach that means that you can actually, actually be your self is one thing that is opened my eyes this 12 months.”
A Southern California native, Jones has heard from family and friends all over the place because the commerce deadline approaches. Individuals in his life in Los Angeles and San Diego and Arizona and Texas all need him to play for his or her favourite groups. The social media rumor mill has been not possible to disregard, the noise loud sufficient that Duncan stated he deliberate on addressing his staff in regards to the deadline.
For now, Jones nonetheless goals of sharing an outfield with Decide and calling Yankee Stadium house. Over the following six days, the Yankees will resolve if the refined developments and loud outcomes are actual sufficient to maintain him on a path there.
“We’ll fear about that when that occurs,” Jones stated. “Proper now, there’s nonetheless time to go, so we’ll fear about these issues as they occur. However I can not actually converse on something I can not management in any respect.”
