Spencer Jones Is Coming, Guys

Sound the alarms. Spencer Jones, the Yankees’ 6’6” left-handed power tower, just punched his ticket from Double-A Somerset to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. And yes, it’s exciting enough to temporarily forget how much the big-league club struggles to hit with runners in scoring position.

Jones, often billed as “Aaron Judge Lite” (or Judge’s mirror-image lefty cousin), is the Yankees’ No. 2 overall prospect, trailing only George Lombard Jr., a shortstop/second baseman hybrid who’s currently lurking just ahead of him on the organizational depth chart. 

Drafted 25th overall in 2022, Jones was originally a two-way unicorn until Tommy John surgery in 2020 made him ditch the mound and fully embrace the art of mashing baseballs instead.

And mash he has.

In 49 games with Somerset this season, Jones was basically living in the box score. He posted a .274 batting average and a .594 slugging percentage. Sprinkle in 16 home runs, 42 runs scored, and an overall offensive profile trending in the right direction, and you’ve got a guy doing everything short of sending smoke signals to the Yankees’ front office that he’s ready for more.

Of course, it’s not all sunshine and dingers. His strikeout rate sits at a frightening 33.7%, and in 2024 alone, he whiffed on a staggering 40% of swings—including an unsettling tendency to swing through fastballs right down Broadway. Basically, if the pitch comes in with heat, Jones sometimes looks like he’s swinging at ghosts. But when he does connect? Let’s just say Statcast usually needs a breather.

The Yankees are reportedly working to keep his bat on a flatter path and in the zone longer, but his raw tools are undeniable—elite bat speed, freakish leverage, and exit velocities that make pitchers question their life choices. But the finesse? Still under construction.

Now, enter the speculation: Could Jones leapfrog his way to the majors later this year, possibly in a September call-up? The name Jasson Domínguez inevitably comes up in that convo. Domínguez, once the golden child of the farm system, has been solid if unspectacular since returning from injury. He’s batting .253—respectable, especially compared to Austin Wells’ subaquatic .217—and showing signs of life, even if his defense has been spotty. So would the Yankees really bump “The Martian” for the new skyscraper in town?

Maybe. Maybe not.

It’s not clear when Jones will make his major-league debut—but it’s looking more like when, not if. For now, Scranton becomes the lab for the Yankees’ newest science experiment. If the contact issues stabilize, don’t be shocked if Jones brings that towering frame and game-changing pop to Yankee Stadium sooner rather than later.

And if nothing else, Triple-A pitchers are about to get a crash course in what it feels like to give up 450-foot regrets.