The New York Yankees must avoid this colossal mistake with Spencer Jones.
New York Yankees outfielder Spencer Jones has certainly been on a tear, and he has shown no signs of slowing down.
After going 3-for-4 with a couple of RBI in the Yankees' win over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday night, he is now slashing .313/.385/.542 with four home runs and 20 RBI over his last 30 games. Over his last 15, he is slashing .333/.404/.533
On the season as a whole, Jones is batting .255 with a .785 OPS, having homered nine times to go along with 33 RBI. He has also stolen nine bases.
And while Jones hasn't been spectacular in the field, he has definitely been solid, as evidenced by his nifty sliding grab Thursday evening.
The problem? Trent Grisham is lurking, and once he returns from his hamstring injury, manager Aaron Boone will be tempted to make him the Yankees' starting center fielder again.
That would be a colossal mistake.
At this point, there is literally nothing Grisham does better than Jones. Jones has more power. He is more athletic. He actually hits for a better average. He is better defensively. He also has a future with the Yankees. Grisham doesn't.
Now that Aaron Judge is back in right field, there is only room for one of Jones or Grisham in the starting lineup, and the answer should be obvious.
Jones has clearly gotten very comfortable in the big leagues and is on his way to establishing himself as a cornerstone piece moving forward.
Yes, his 35.3 percent strikeout rate is still a thing, but Jones is always going to strike out. And if we're being honest, he has improved noticeably in that area in recent weeks.
Otherwise, Jones has been even better than many expected. The fact that he is batting well over .300 over the last month is incredible given the type of hitter he is, and I would even venture to say his .255 overall average is impressive.
Removing Jones from his post in center field would be quite the blunder by Boone, who tends to be too loyal to his veterans.
But can Boone really take Jones out of the lineup considering just how good he has been?
Hopefully, the Yankees realize that Jones is the superior player to Grisham and leave him alone once Grisham returns.
Any other outcome would be a disservice, not just to Jones, but to the team.
