Sometimes you just have to accept a harsh dose of reality. In this case, it’s the Yankees who get bad news. If former top-100 baseball prospect Spencer Jones had a dominant season in Double-A, he would be playing for a different organization right now. And yes, you heard the first part right, but more on that later.
To be completely honest, I realize I haven’t been Jones’ biggest fan. I’ve written a lot about him and haven’t exactly given him much praise. I bear no ill will toward the kid, but I know a lot of people have a lot of respect for him and his five-tool talent, including many of our readers here at Bleeding Yankee Blue, but I don’t see it that way… and I’m not alone.
Now that the trade deadline is behind us, we’re hearing more about what the Yankees tried and failed to do. Brian Cashman TRIED to make a deal for a starting pitcher centered around coveted prospect Jones, but they had little interest. Read more HERE. “The Yankees were willing to use highly valued outfield prospect Spencer Jones as a pitcher at the deadline, several teams said, but shied away because of Jones’ struggles this year,” said Bob Nightengale.
I don’t usually like to cite Nightengale as a source these days, but I think other teams have reservations about Jones. I’ve had that all season. He’s got promise. I love his raw power with 14 home runs and 21 stolen bases…but he has a high strikeout rate that I just can’t ignore. He needs to improve his batting discipline.
I always say give credit where credit is due, and I give Jones credit for the work he’s done lately. He’s hit better in the last month and has a .271 batting average, however he’s had a strikeout in 40 of his last 96 at-bats, so he still has work to do. It’s baby steps… but teams see that and see a 23-year-old kid who’s still in Double-A because he’s struggling against minor league pitchers.
I understand why teams that contacted the Yankees balked at Jones. I’ve been saying this all season and honestly, I really want to be wrong. MLB released an updated ranking of the top 100 prospects last week (read HERE) and Jones is no longer in it. I guess that makes sense, but it also hurts to know that one positive argument the Yankees used to try to convince teams to sign Jones is no longer there. Now Jasson Dominguez is the only top 100 prospect the Yankees have.
I’ve said this before, the Yankees try to overstate their talent, and now other teams finally have a recent example of it. The Yankees have let Jones miss his chances for too long… and now he’s not bringing the Yankees the value they wanted. Another failure from Brian Cashman.
Just another tough side of the business. Can the Yankees continue to work on Jones and make him what they need him to be? Possibly. They have time, with Dominguez getting MLB opportunities instead of Jones…but if he doesn’t fix his weaknesses soon, Jones will quickly run out of time.
–Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
Editor-in-chief of BYB
