A couple of weeks ago, Spencer Jones and pitching prospect Bailey Dees came up from Somerset to grab a New York dinner with Ben Rice, three players and pals who came up through the Yankees system together.
Rice has won the race to The Bronx, but Jones has made a leap toward joining his buddy. Maybe those get-togethers can soon become more frequent.
“It’s always fun to think about that stuff,” Rice said Friday, when the Yankees promoted Jones from Double-A Somerset to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and Jones proceeded to homer in his first SWB at-bat. “Just happy for him and looking forward to seeing how he progresses.”
Jones, the exciting if flawed big-hitting outfielder, is a step away from the major leagues after three loud months with Somerset, with whom he led the Eastern League and all Yankees minor leaguers with 16 homers and a .594 slugging percentage. In 49 games and 208 plate appearances, Jones posted a .984 OPS that was second-best in the league.
The Yankees’ No. 2 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, has been doing a lot right.
“He’s having a good season,” manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees opened a series against the A’s on Friday. “So it’s been good to see him — obviously, the size stands out. The athleticism, the speed and power really stands out. The ability to control the strike zone. He’s doing all those things.”
For a second straight season, though, Jones also is striking out. Last year, the 2022 first-round pick was punched out 200 times — the second-most for a Yankees prospect since 1936 — while at Somerset, problematic enough that he repeated the level to begin this year.
His strikeout rate has dipped from 36.8 percent last season to 33.7 percent this season, but that tick down is not enough to convince the Yankees he is big-league ready.
For context, that 33.7 percent K rate would be the highest in the majors among 163 qualifiers, a touch above Oneil Cruz’s 33 percent.
“Obviously, still a work in progress,” Boone acknowledged of the 24-year-old. “Trying to continue to move that needle as just that overall hitter. He’s done a really good job of that and earned this promotion.”
The lefty-swinging Jones is listed as 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds, immediately gaining comparisons to Aaron Judge as soon as he entered the organization. It is notoriously difficult for larger, longer-limbed players to find a consistent swing that makes consistent contact, and the Yankees are hopeful there is more bat-to-ball ability than he is showing.
If Jones can learn to cut down on the strikeouts without sacrificing his power, the ceiling is huge. The Yankees — or anyone, really, about a month away from the trade deadline — could use a fast center fielder with rare power and excellent on-base skills.
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Few know Jones and his game better than Rice, good friends who first played together with High-A Tampa in 2022 and who started last season as teammates in Somerset before Rice rocketed to The Bronx.
“Special athlete. Really fast, really strong,” Rice said of his buddy. “Just very talented and just tooled out.”
And as a personality?
“Chiller,” Rice said with a smile of the California native and Vanderbilt product. “Nice, easygoing guy. Outgoing. Personable.”
If Jones’ Yankees chance arrives this season, he would need to shred Triple-A pitching and might need some underperformance or injury from a step above. The Yankees’ outfield picture has been both productive and crowded, with Aaron Judge entrenched in right field and Giancarlo Stanton at DH, Cody Bellinger and Jasson Domínguez enjoying solid seasons, along with a better-than-expected output from Trent Grisham.
Perhaps the Yankees are showcasing Jones against better competition. Or perhaps they have promoted their next big-time prospect so he is merely one phone call away.
“Hopefully, [he] can continue to make gains now at Triple-A,” Boone said.