Greg Jones (jonesgr02)

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Gregory Jones Jr.

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Biographical Information[edit]

Shortstop Greg Jones was drafted twice, the first time coming out of high school in 2017, in the 17th round by the Baltimore Orioles, and the second time in the first round of the 2019 amateur draft by the Tampa Bay Rays out of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. In his sophomore season in college, he had batted .341 with 42 stolen bases in 63 games, also leading his conference with 9 triples and 70 runs, to claim his spot among the top prospects available in that year's draft. He was the highest draft pick in his school's history.

His first professional experience also came in 2019, with the Hudson Valley Renegades of the New York-Penn League. In 48 games, he batted .335/.413/.461 with 39 runs, 24 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. It took the Coronavirus pandemic to slow him down, forcing him to sit out the 2020 season while the minor leagues were shut down, but when he returned to action in 2021, he continued to hit well, although he missed some time with a quadriceps injury. With the Bowling Green Hot Rods of the High-A East, he batted .291 in 56 games and was a terror on the basepaths with 27 stolen bases in 29 attempts. He was promoted to the AA Montgomery Biscuits in early September, but didn't do as well there, batting .185 in 16 games. Still, overall his line was .270/.366/.482 in 72 games, with a surprising total of 14 homers (he only hit 8 doubles and 4 triples, so he was not a typical power hitter), 56 runs and 40 RBIs. He added another 7 steals in AA without being caught, to finish with an outstanding total of 34 in 36 attempts.

In 2022, he played 79 games with Montgomery, hitting .238 with 8 homers and 40 RBIs, as injuries slowed him down. He was back with Montgomery at the start of 2023, and in spite of a rough first month in which he hit .173 in 20 games, he was still promoted to the AAA Durham Bulls in early May, where he played another 51 games, hitting.278 with 7 homers and 26 RBIs. He missed time with a hamstring strain and managed to strike out 109 times in 71 games. On March 21, 2024, the Rays traded him to the Colorado Rockies in return for minor league pitcher Joe Rock. He started the season with the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes, went on the injured list for a month from late April to late May, then in quick succession made a rehabilitation assignment with the ACL Rockies, returned to Albuquerque on June 1st, was called up to Denver and made his major league debut on June 6th. he was hitting .240 in 20 games with the Isotopes at the time, and in his first game in the Show was used as a defensive replacement in right field for the final inning of a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals

Further Reading[edit]

  • Thomas Harding: "Rockies swing deal for 'dynamic' prospect Jones", mlb.com, March 21, 2024. [1]

Related Sites[edit]

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