Ryan Garcia
The Yankees’ first selection in the 2022 MLB Draft, Spencer Jones has been one of the most polarizing prospects in the entire sport.
After hitting 35 home runs last season and reaching Triple-A, the Yankees chose to protect Jones in the Rule 5 Draft by putting him on the 40-man roster, which makes a Major League promotion a reality in 2026.
This promotion won’t come right now; New York reassigned him and Elmer Rodriguez to Minor League camp earlier this week, but is this a case of the team capping the development of a young prospect?
It’s easy to look at the 24-year-old physical specimen and wonder why he isn’t in the big leagues, but with serious holes in his swing alongside excellent outfield depth, the Yankees have no reason to rush him.
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Patience Is How the Yankees Can Set Spencer Jones Up For Success
Spencer Jones launched his fourth home run of Spring Training against the Phillies, and yet the Yankees have seemed very staunch in their belief that he’s not ready to contribute at the Major League level.
While he’s shown off excellent physical traits including elite-level power and speed, Jones’ contact rates aren’t even close to the league-worst marks from the 2026 MLB season.
There is a bit of survivorship bias here, hitters who have a Whiff% of over 40% tend to not play much, but teams do this because those kinds of hitters are usually incapable of producing above-average OPS numbers.
Better competition in the Major Leagues would likely worsen these metrics barring a massive skill jump, and that’s where the Yankees have every reason to hold him down in Scranton.
I’m not sure that Jones is going to be able to just “fix” his contact rates necessarily, but I do believe he has room to improve another skill that’ll cut down some of the strikeouts.
A 36.3% O-Swing% in Triple-A is a number that has to improve if the Yankees can help him recognize spin better, I know he’s a good “bad ball” hitter but there has to be better overall discipline.
He doesn’t swing enough in-zone to make this a good trade-off either, which is why the Bronx Bombers didn’t want to put their centerfield position on the hands of these kinds of improvements.
Trent Grisham’s return isn’t a closed door for Spencer Jones; his route to the big leagues is cleaner than Jasson Dominguez’s, who is contained to just left field where Cody Bellinger will roam for at least two more years.
Instead it provides a cushion for the Yankees, giving them an option who can provide high-end power and solid defense while they figure out what they have in their former first-round pick.
Making large strides in his plate discipline, as he did with his game power last year, could make Spencer Jones into more than just a good everyday regular; it would make him an absolute star.
You can’t rule that possibility out, but the Yankees are going to need to see it to believe it, because without any improvements they’re staring at a 40% K% hitter who likely has an OPS+ well below 100.
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