Spencer Jones was supposed to be the kind of prospect the Yankees protect at all costs. Five months ago, that’s exactly how they treated him.
The 6-foot-7 outfielder had the kind of profile that turns heads everywhere: left-handed power built for Yankee Stadium, speed, and enough center-field range to make people dream big. Around the organization, the belief was clear - this was a player worth waiting on.
That patience is getting harder to defend.
Jones is now at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after a second major league stint produced the same issue that has followed him for years. With the Yankees sitting at 54-43 and trailing the first-place Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East, the front office has to figure out what Jones really is before the Aug. 3 trade deadline forces the issue.
The raw tools have never been the problem. The swing has. And now that concern is no longer staying in the background.
Veteran columnist Bob Klapisch of NJ.com relayed the sharpest criticism, with multiple scouts urging the Yankees to move Jones before his value drops any further. One evaluator drew a direct line to a name that still stings in the Bronx.
“Trade Jones while he still has some value,” one talent evaluator told NJ.com. “He’s Joey Gallo 2.0.”
That comparison carries plenty of baggage. Gallo came in with huge left-handed power and left behind a trail of strikeouts that swallowed everything else. For Yankees fans, the warning is obvious.
The concern centers on a swing that leaves Jones vulnerable to velocity up and in. Scouts say opponents have found that soft spot and kept attacking it, and they don’t believe he has adjusted enough.
“It’s a pretty glaring hole,” another scout told NJ.com. “(Opposing teams) have figured that out and Jones hasn’t made an adjustment.”
The numbers back up the unease. In his two call-ups this season, Jones hit .233 with two home runs and seven RBIs in 73 at-bats, good for a .687 OPS. He also struck out 34 times in 82 plate appearances, a whiff rate near 42 percent, according to NJ.com and Baseball Savant.
Supporters of Jones point to Aaron Judge, who also struck out a lot early in his career before becoming one of the game’s most feared hitters. But scouts cited by NJ.com say the comparison only goes so far.
Judge’s swing-and-miss issues did not follow him through the minors the way they have with Jones, whose professional strikeout rate has hovered around a third of his plate appearances for years. His swinging-strike rates at the upper levels have also been ugly, including stretches in the last two Triple-A seasons near 19 to 20 percent, per RotoWire.
Still, there’s a reason the Yankees have held onto him. When Jones does connect, the ball jumps.
He has produced exit velocities above 117 mph in the International League and has ranked among the league’s home run leaders. He’s also a career .272 hitter in the minors, per NJ.com, which is why nobody in the organization is ready to write him off completely.
The problem is opportunity. The Yankees’ outfield is crowded, with Cody Bellinger, Jasson Domínguez and Trent Grisham handling everyday work while a designated-hitter rotation takes more at-bats out of the equation. There isn’t an obvious lane for Jones in the Bronx right now.
That makes the decision even more delicate for Brian Cashman. Grisham can reach free agency after the season, and the Yankees have to consider whether Jones or Domínguez is the better long-term fit in center field for 2027. Many inside and outside the organization believe Domínguez, the more polished contact hitter, has the edge.
Jones still has a chance to change the conversation. His defense and production at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre were part of the reason for the demotion in the first place, and if he hits, another call-up could still come as the Yankees push toward the postseason. If the swing doesn’t improve, though, the deadline could become the cleanest exit.
For now, Jones waits one option away from the majors, while the Yankees weigh whether the future they once protected is still worth keeping.
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