The Yankees have spent the past year riding a roller coaster of emotions with their towering outfield prospect Spencer Jones.
He was once considered the next big thing, but last season at AA he looked more like a curiosity than a sure bet.
Jones slashed a pedestrian .259/.336/.452 with only 17 home runs across 122 games, raising doubts about his long-term ceiling.
Yet, baseball has a funny way of rewarding patience, and the Yankees are seeing that play out right now in spectacular form.
Dominance at AA erased last year’s concerns almost overnight
Instead of letting past struggles define him, Spencer Jones came out this season determined to rewrite the script at AA Somerset.
He smashed his way to a .274/.389/.594 line over 49 games, blasting 16 homers with 32 RBIs, flexing real middle-of-the-order power.
His 185 wRC+ showed he was performing 85% better than the average AA hitter, a dramatic turnaround for the 24-year-old slugger.
Sure, he struck out in nearly 34% of his plate appearances, but his career-best 15.4% walk rate suggested sharper pitch selection.
For the Yankees, this growth was enough to justify giving Jones a taste of AAA competition to see how real the breakout might be.
Spencer Jones is on fire in AAA — but old concerns linger
Promoted to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Jones didn’t just carry momentum — he poured gasoline on it.
Through just 10 games, he’s hitting a blistering .385/.469/.846 with five home runs, nine RBIs and an absurd 1.315 OPS.
Even by small-sample standards, these numbers scream superstar potential, like a thunderstorm suddenly breaking a summer drought.
However, the same issues that plagued him before are still hanging around. Jones has already struck out 15 times in 49 plate appearances.
His whiff rate and contact inside the zone remain alarming, raising fair questions about how pitchers at the highest level might expose him.
Yankees weighing future roles or possible blockbuster trade bait
The Yankees aren’t just evaluating Spencer Jones as a future cornerstone in the outfield alongside Jasson Dominguez.
They’re also measuring his value as a premium trade chip who could bring back a semi-controllable, established star if they decide to strike.
With his rare combination of size, speed, power, and defensive upside, Jones resembles a thoroughbred racehorse that just needs a little more training.
If he can trim down the strikeouts even marginally, the Yankees might choose to gamble on his tantalizing upside instead of dealing him away.
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Either way, Spencer Jones changes how the Yankees operate
For a Yankees team always looking to add offense and keep payroll flexibility, Jones blossoming into a legitimate MLB power threat changes everything.
It’s the kind of internal development that gives general manager Brian Cashman options, whether it’s to fill out his lineup or swing a major trade.
Jones could be the homegrown lightning bolt the Yankees have been chasing for years — or the key that unlocks their next franchise-altering move.
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