Improved Approach Helps Yankees’ Spencer Jones Maximize Power
It was just prior to what would turn out to be the last game of Spencer Jones’ first full professional season, and the 22-year-old center fielder was getting grilled.
In his last media session of the year just prior to Double-A Somerset being eliminated from the Eastern League playoffs, Jones was asked about a campaign filled with highs and lows.
As to the highs, Jones popped 16 home runs and stole 43 bases while hitting .267/.336/.444 in 117 games. In July he earned a trip to the Futures Game prospect showcase in Seattle.
But at the same time, he remained with High-A Hudson Valley until the end of August despite being a polished college hitter and 2022 first-round pick out of Vanderbilt.
The 6-foot-6, 235-pound Jones didn’t quite get as much out of his plus power with the Renegades as he might have liked.
But the lefthanded hitter made steady progress in other areas of his game, such as working on taking the ball the other way and cutting down on a 29% strikeout rate that was heading in the right direction prior to being summoned to Somerset.
“The first full season of professional baseball is tough routine-wise, in learning about your body and that sort of stuff,” Jones said. “So I just tried to nail down everything in that routine when I was in Hudson Valley, so when I got (to Double-A), it was just part of what I do.
“Intention and approach (to cut back strikeouts). For those things, you’ve got to be locked in for every pitch, and I feel like I’ve done a much better job with that.”
Jones said he shortened his swing path and worked on moving more efficiently in order to make the necessary adjustment.
“Some things were getting away from me, and it was just some conversations we had (with the organization), just recognizing better pitches,” he said.
