New York Yankees outfielder Spencer Jones could become special because of this.
New York Yankees outfielder Spencer Jones is looking more and more comfortable at the plate as he gets deeper into his rookie campaign, and now that Trent Grisham is sidelined with a hamstring injury, we'll be seeing an awful lot of the youngster.
That's a great thing, because it will provide Jones with even more time to hone his skills on the big-league level and potentially (if not likely) become the Yankees' starting center fielder in 2027.
Jones is slashing .246/.320/.447 with nine home runs, 11 doubles and 31 RBI over 223 plate appearances this season. Over his last 15 games, he is slashing .304/.365/.522, and he owns an .810 OPS over his last 30.
While the 25-year-old still has a strikeout problem and probably always will, he has cut down on his punchouts in recent weeks, and he is doing a tremendous job of working counts.
But perhaps the thing we should be most noticing about Jones — and the trait that makes him so unique — is his ability to go the other way.
It's rare to see a lefty power hitter use all fields, but Jones does, and he does so with intent. That was clear when he laced an RBI double down the left-field line during the eighth inning of the Yankees' loss to the San Diego Padres on Sunday, and it's been evident in quite a few of his long balls this year.
That attribute will make Jones an even more dangerous hitter, and the fact that he is already actively going to opposite field with such limited major-league experience is very eye-opening.
Jones obviously still has kinks in his game. For example, he is very susceptible to high fastballs, and his swing is still pretty wild. But no one was expecting Jones to be Miguel Cabrera.
I actually see Jones as more of an Adam Dunn type, a masher with 40-homer power who can draw walks. Dunn wasn't nearly as athletic and was more of a dead-pull hitter, but I'm just talking in terms of overall production at the plate.
If Jones can hit .240-.250 but still manage an OBP around .340-.350 while smashing 40 dingers, I think the Yankees would absolutely sign up for that.
And let me just say this: Jones is further along during his debut campaign than Aaron Judge was in his back in 2016. Judge hit just .179 with a .608 OPS across 27 games while being an absolute strikeout machine that season.
That isn't to say that Jones will become Judge, so don't twist this. I'm just saying that Jones is actually more advanced than some might think.
Jones is a slugger, for sure. He isn't Cabrera or Albert Pujols. But he isn't Dave Kingman, either. His intelligence at the plate and his ability to spray the ball around could ultimately result in Jones becoming a truly special player.
