Spencer Jones made plans to be in San Diego this weekend.
That’s exactly where he’ll be, as the New York Yankees‘ 6-foot-7 outfielder is playing a key role here as the September calendar gets rolling with the MLB stretch run.
The Yanks begin a three-game series in San Diego on Friday night, and it’s exactly where Jones wanted to be.
“Last winter, Spencer Jones circled this weekend’s series at Petco Park and made it his goal to be on the Yankees’ roster for it,” the New York Post’s Greg Joyce wrote on X on Friday. “Tonight, he arrives back home not just on the roster but playing well in a meaningful role.”
Why San Diego?
Jones is relatively local to San Diego.
He was born in Encinitas, California, and he attended La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad.
When the MLB schedule came out last year, Jones saw this Yankees road trip late in the year. He knew it was the kind of window that he could potentially have reached the majors by, according to Joyce, and so he kept it in mind.
Jones beat his own deadline by a decent margin.
Spencer Jones’ Importance to Yankees
Maybe if Aaron Judge hadn’t gotten hurt, this season would look different for Jones.
But right now, the 6-foot-7 superstar is out, so the 6-foot-7 rookie has gotten a chance to make an impact, and he sure has.
Jones has played in 67 games this season, entering action Friday, and he has nine doubles, a triple, nine home runs, 28 RBI, 27 runs scored and 9-for-11 on base stealing.
Jones has batted .239, which is better than most expected out of him with his swing-and-miss tendencies. His OPS is a solid .756.
He’s even proven that he can play centerfield at the MLB level, something that seems incongruous with his size.
It’s not automatic that Jones will maintain a key role if and when Judge returns, but Judge isn’t back yet.
The reports out of New York suggest Judge is getting closer, but the weekend series in San Diego still looks set to be about Jones, not Judge.
Jones was a notable prospect to an extent in high school in that area, but his commitment to Vanderbilt helped push him down to being a 31st-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft out of high school by the Angels.
He didn’t sign, and three years later, the Yankees made him a first-round pick out of Vandy.
Not everyone believed Jones would get to this point, but he believed, and he’s proven the importance of setting goals. He wanted to be in San Diego this weekend, and that’s exactly where Spencer Jones is.
He’ll surely have plenty of familiar faces there cheering him on, and don’t be surprised if Jones delivers with one of those towering blasts of his that has a chance to be a long-term, frequent outcome for the Yankees.
Yankees’ Spencer Jones Circled This Series Vs. Padres