Spencer Jones (minors02)

Spencer George Jones

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 6", Weight 235 lb.
• School Vanderbilt University
• High School La Costa Canyon High School

• Born May 14, 2001 in Encinitas, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Spencer Jones was the first-round pick of the New York Yankees in the 2022 amateur draft, taken with the 25th overall selection out of Vanderbilt University. Three years earlier, in the 2019 amateur draft, he had been selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 31st round, but decided to continue on to college instead. As a junior at Vanderbilt in 2022, he hit .370 with 12 homers, 62 runs and 60 RBIs in 62 games. He played in the 2021 College World Series. He had been a successful two-way player in high school and while he did not pitch in college, he had missed part of the 2021 season recovering from Tommy John surgery resulting from his days as a pitcher.

His being drafted by the Yankees coincided with the tremendous season being put up by Aaron Judge, when he broke Roger Maris's 60-year old record for most home runs in a season in the American League, so he did not fail to draw comparisons to the superstar outfielder, given they played the same position and featured a similar body type (although Jones hits lefthanded, whereas Judge is a righthander). He made his pro debut in 2022 with the FCL Yankees then after three games was promoted to the Tampa Yankees of the Florida State League, where he hit .325 in 22 games. In 2023, he spent most of the season with the Hudson Valley Renegades of the South Atlantic League before earning a late-season call-up to the Somerset Patriots of the Eastern League, where he replaced another vaunted Yankee prospect, Jasson Dominguez, who had just been promoted to AAA himself. He hit .267/.336/.444 in 117 games between the two teams, with 29 doubles, 16 homers and 66 RBIs. He also stole 43 stolen bases, a reflection that, like Judge, he was extremely athletic in spite of his large size. He was chosen to play in the 2023 Futures Game and was named an organizational All-Star after the season.

The hype around him continued to build when he showed up for spring training with the big league team in 2024, and he only fueled the fire by hitting a monster homer in his first Grapefruit League at-bat on February 24th, a bomb to left field estimated at 470 feet, and then going deep twice in a "Spring Breakout" game against the top prospects of the Toronto Blue Jays on March 16th.

Further Reading

• Sam Dykstra: "Yanks' No. 2 prospect Jones lowers hands, raises potential", mlb.com, May 6, 2024. [1]
• Bryan Hoch: "Yanks grab Judge-esque OF, ace RHP in Draft", mlb.com, July 18, 2022. [2]
• Bryan Hoch: "Top prospect Jones cranks 470-foot HR in first spring AB", mlb.com, February 24, 2024. [3]
• Joe Trezza: "No. 7 prospect embracing Judge comps", mlb.com, August 18, 2022. [4]

Related Sites

• Vanderbilt bio