Sometimes, a national pundit covering MLB will make a comment that leaves you wondering, “Where did that come from?”
In a recent article for ESPN.com, David Schoenfield gave an “Early MLB 2025 trade deadline preview for all 30 teams.” In his analysis of the New York Yankees, Schoenfield notes the likelihood of New York attempting to pick up a starting pitcher, which is news to pretty much nobody. It has been well established that, with the long-term losses to injury of Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil, the Yankees need to shore up their rotation if they are going to successfully defend their AL Championship title.
But in his discussion of the trade chips that New York can use to make a deal of substance, Schoenfield made an interesting observation, stating that the tradability of Spencer Jones, the team’s No. 2 prospect, “has fallen.”
Schoenfield supplied nothing further to justify the comment. No indication was given as to why he feels Jones may not be as valuable to potential trade partners.
Spencer Jones Boosts Power Numbers in Second Double-A Season
The Yankees’ first-round pick (25th overall) in 2022, Jones is off to a bit of a slow start offensively for the Double-A Somerset Patriots, with 17 hits and 31 strikeouts in his first 21 games. However, seven of those hits have gone over the fence, which is tied for the lead among all minor league players, and the 6-foot-7, left-handed swinging outfielder has posted a .901 OPS, well above his career mark of .806.
Last season at Somerset, Jones didn’t hit his seventh home run of the season until June 25, in the team’s 59th game; this year, he connected for homer No. 7 in game No. 18. And in a recent episode of the Fireside Yankees podcast, as part of the Empire Sports Media network, Ryan Garcia noted that several of Jones’ recent blasts were hit with an exit velocity of 111 mph or higher.
“So really, really, really encouraging there in terms of damage output,” Garcia said.
“Spencer Jones’s power is relatively unmatched. There are very few hitters who can do damage at the rate that Spencer Jones does damage. We all know the strikeout issues are the problem . . . but if he continues to hit the ball in the air the way he did, we could be having some fun conversation about Spencer Jones midway through the season.”
Spencer Jones Benefits From New Batting Stance, Makes Case for Triple-A Promotion
Garcia also stressed how much improvement Jones has made defensively.
“I want to really emphasize just how good the glove is, because the glove [has been] remarkable,” he said.
Writing for Yanks Go Yard, the New York-focused FanSided site, Adam Weinrib noted that Jones made some significant alterations to his batting stance since last season, starting off much more open and with a slight crouch. The changes appear to have spurred Jones’ league-best power surge, which Weinrib stated when added to his elite defense and superb speed, boosts the case for Jones to be promoted to Triple-A.
Comments
Yankees Prospect Posts Minor League-Leading Power Numbers to Refute Analyst’s Claim of ‘Fallen’ Value