Yankees prospect Spencer Jones welcomes Aaron Judge comparisons
At some point or another, prospects or young players rising up in a respective sport will be compared to their predecessors. Whether it be Jaden Ivey compared to Ja Morant, Mike Trout to Mickey Mantle or even Kobe Bryant to Michael Jordan, fans, pundits and other evaluators will do this for the majority of players. For current New York Yankees prospect and 2022 first-round pick Spencer Jones, his player comparison (that might be deemed unfair) is outfielder and AL MVP candidate Aaron Judge.
Both Judge and Jones present burly 6-foot-7 size with power — Judge from the right side, Jones from the left side — with good athleticism and quality defensive traits. And Jones, who’s gotten off to a very good start in the minor leagues, has embraced such comparisons to perhaps the best player in recent franchise history.
“I think it’s cool more than anything else,” Jones told reporters on a conference call Thursday, according to MLB.com’s Joe Trezza. “It doesn’t concern me at all or add any [pressure]. I’m excited to get to work and show people what I can do.
“I’m really excited to eventually meet [Judge] at some point,” he added. “I’ve heard really great things about his personality, and as a teammate and as a great leader. I’m excited to get to know him and learn from him as much as I possibly can.”
Full quotes here.
It’s no question that Jones, who was drafted 25th overall out of Vanderbilt, has flourished early in pro-ball.
It only took him only three games — a total of 11 plate appearances — to blow past rookie ball. He went 5-for-10 with one double, one home run, four RBIs and two stolen bases. So far in Low-A Tampa, he’s slashing .286/.400/.476 with one double, one home run, one RBI and a pair of stolen bases.
According to MLB Pipeline, he’s already shot up the leaderboard; he’s currently ranked as the organization’s 7th-best prospect — sandwiched between shortstop Trey Sweeney (High-A) and right-handed farmhand Will Warren (Double-A). Fangraphs’ updated rankings have him as their 12th-best prospect.
Here is an excerpt of their pre-draft report on him:
“Jones has freaky size and power, and of all the prospects in this draft, he’s arguably the one with the best shot to eventually have 80-grade raw power. If he develops even a 40-grade hit tool, he’ll be a star-level player.”
The biggest knock on Jones coming out of college was probably his strikeout numbers — fanning roughly 24.7 percent over three collegiate seasons. He still did slash .329/.418/.554 (.972) over his career with the Commodores, including a .370/.460/.644 slash line with 36 extra-base hits, 12 homers, 60 RBIs and 14 stolen bases in 272 plate appearances (61 games) as a senior. So, there’s obviously something there that perhaps the Yankees can tap into throughout his minor league career.
“My strength is that I like to compete and I like to get out there and put a lot on the field when I’m there,” Jones added. “I want to play baseball, and getting the opportunity to play every day is extremely special. So I’m taking advantage of it.”
If he can continue to blossom, he could eventually earn the “blue chip prospect” label as he rises up the ranks. It’s *way* too soon to make any determination, but if he uses that as a confidence boost to tear up the minors, I’m not sure many fans will complain.
***
SUBSCRIBE to the Vendetta YouTube Channel!
SHOP for Vendetta Merch!
SUPPORT Vendetta on Patreon!
