Alexander Wilson
The wait is over. The New York Yankees are promoting Spencer Jones to the major leagues, first reported by Jon Heyman of the New York Post, and the timing makes all the sense in the world. Jasson Dominguez crashed into the outfield wall making a spectacular grab on Thursday and sprained his AC joint in the process, likely sitting for a few weeks. Giancarlo Stanton is still working his way back from his calf strain. The outfield needs a body and Jones has been one of the most dominant power hitters in Triple-A all season. The door opened and the Yankees walked through it.
This is the call Jones has been waiting for his entire professional career, and he’s earned every bit of it.
What He’s Done in Triple-A
Over 33 games in Scranton this season, Jones is hitting .258/.366/.592 with 11 homers, 41 RBIs, a 32.4% strikeout rate, a 12.7% walk rate, and a 143 wRC+. Forty-one RBIs in 33 games is one of those numbers that forces you to read it twice. He’s driving in more than a run per game at Triple-A, and the raw power behind those numbers is genuinely elite. He ranks in the 99th percentile in average exit velocity, max exit velocity, and barrel percentage. When Jones connects, the ball doesn’t just go far. It goes fast and far, which is a different category of contact than most hitters can generate.
The strikeout rate at 32.4% is not going away, and nobody is pretending it is. Jones whiffs at an alarming clip and the Yankees know exactly what they’re signing up for when they call him up. He’s going to strike out a lot in the major leagues, probably more than he does in Triple-A, because major league pitchers are better at locating breaking balls in his swing path. That’s not a reason to leave him in Scranton. It’s a reason to manage his role carefully and put him in situations where the power plays without exposing the contact issues too severely.
What He Brings to the Majors
The defense is legitimate. Jones is a plus outfielder who can cover center field when needed and plays all three outfield spots with above-average instincts. His arm is strong. His routes are clean. The Yankees aren’t getting a defensive liability when they call him up, which removes one of the primary concerns about installing a high-strikeout hitter in a regular lineup spot.
The speed and base running add a dimension this outfield doesn’t currently have at full strength. Jones is a threat to take extra bases and can be disruptive on the base paths in a way that Stanton, by design, is not built to be. Putting him in the lineup changes what opposing pitchers have to think about even on the pitches he doesn’t swing at.
The Yankees are betting that a player who ranks in the 99th percentile in exit velocity and barrel percentage is going to make enough contact at the major league level to justify the strikeout rate. Forty-one RBIs in 33 Triple-A games makes that a reasonable bet. When Jones has a swing he likes, the results tend to be dramatic, and in a lineup with Aaron Judge protecting him and Ben Rice setting the table at the top (when he gets back), there will be pitches to hit.
He’s polarizing because of the swing-and-miss. He’s also one of the most exciting power prospects the Yankees have had in years. The major leagues are about to find out which version shows up first.
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