Yankees’ Spencer Jones Strives For Simplicity, Consistency
Another year, another Futures Game for Spencer Jones.
But the 23-year-old outfielder has goals that are far bigger than just that.
On the surface, it’s been a merely average season for the 2022 first-rounder out of Vanderbilt. Through 99 games for Double-A Somerset, Jones hit .251/.332/.423 with 14 home runs and 21 stolen bases.
He was on pace to set new career highs for home runs and walks. His 165 strikeouts already were a new career high.
“To Spencer’s credit, he has done a ton of work behind the scenes which the average person never sees or hears about,” Yankees hitting coordinator Joe Migliaccio said.
“With that being said, we’ve seen positive trends in his ability to control the strike zone month over month. Every hitter starts to learn over time that not all strikes are created equal, given their location, the hitter’s approach and difference in counts.”
With a focus on improved swing decisions, Jones was seeing more pitches per at-bat (4.2) than in previous years. He has worked through multiple, well-documented adjustments to his swing over the past 12 months, including lowering and then re-raising his hands in his stance.
“The ultimate goal is to get Spencer to a spot where he’s as consistent as he can be as often as he can be, which is true for all players as well,” Migliaccio said.
“Certain objectives are more difficult than others, but what continues to be true about Spencer is the work that he’s doing behind the scenes to put himself in a position to be as consistent and repeatable as possible and that work is starting to show on a more consistent basis.”
Jones has been highly productive in spurts. He has won two Eastern League player of the week awards. His OPS since June 1 was .825; it was .641 before.
Jones remains largely mum on the mechanics of his swing, but he said he’s satisfied with once again turning his season around as he strives to become more consistent.
“I feel good this month,” Jones said. “There’s been a lot of conversation with coaches and teammates, just trying to get me back to hitting the ball hard and to recognize pitches as well as possible.
“Just trying to keep things simple and play baseball.”
