SOMERSET, N.J. — It happened with Anthony Volpe. It happened with Jasson Domínguez. The New York Yankees believe it’ll happen, too, with Spencer Jones.
Volpe and Domínguez — hyped Yankees prospects — each struggled when they first reached Double-A Somerset. Then they turned it around and raced to the major leagues.
Jones, one of the franchise’s most highly regarded bats, has also had a tough time at Double-A, hitting .228 with a whopping 63 strikeouts in 158 at-bats through 40 games. But manager Raul Dominguez said he sees a rebound coming for the 23-year-old center fielder.
“I know the talent is there,” Raul Dominguez said. “I know what he can do. He’s just having a really, really tough moment right now.”
Entering Tuesday, Jones was hitting just .179 over his previous 29 games. Drafted in the first round at No. 25 overall and given a $2.88 million signing bonus out of Vanderbilt, The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked Jones as the Yankees’ No. 4 overall prospect and said he “just missed” landing on his list of the top 100 prospects in the game.
The Yankees were thrilled with Jones’ spring training. Following his first official big-league camp invite, the lefty swinger hit .444 with a homer in 13 games and didn’t swing and miss over the first 78 pitches he saw. The swing change he made in the offseason — lowering his hands — appeared to be paying off.
But a minor neck issue held him out for the first week of the season, and though he started hot (.348 BA, .999 OPS through his first 11 games), he couldn’t keep it going.
Jones said he’s not freaking out.
“Things haven’t gone how I expected them to thus far, but I think that’s part of it,” he said.
Spencer Jones ASMR 💥 pic.twitter.com/27LW1kdXRi
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) June 4, 2024
Jones pointed to the time he missed in high school due to an elbow fracture and the time he missed in college with Tommy John surgery as much more difficult obstacles he’s overcome.
“I feel like I’ve dealt with things a little deeper than baseball that have hurt me more than just struggling in a game. … If I’m just dealing with baseball, I’m going to be all right,” he said. “I’m going to get through it.”
Jones said he feels like he’s been “missing some good pitches to hit” and that he’s only a few swings away from getting back to where he needs to be. He added that he’s had a “circle of people I’m working with,” including a mental skills coach and the personal hitting instructor he worked with in the offseason. He added that he might still tinker with his swing.
“I’m still playing with things and figuring out what’s the best position to put myself in,” he said. “I’m sure you’ll see some movement in different spots, but it’s just a hitter feeling some things out.”
Yankees minor league hitting coach Kevin Martir recently said that Jones’ approach may need a little bit of work and that he “chases sometimes.”
“It’s part of the development,” Martir said. “All these guys go through struggles and whatnot. …. It’s happened to many players before. I think in time he’ll keep improving his game planning. All that stuff will improve with time.”
Raul Dominguez was the manager last season when Jasson Domínguez caught fire, hitting .332 over his final 42 games at Double-A, earning a brief promotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in late August before the Yankees gave him his MLB debut on Sept. 1.
“I think that’s going to happen with Spencer soon,” the manager said. “The attitude, the energy he has to take that into the cage with (batting practice), I think that’s going to happen soon.”
“He’s always trying to be himself. I don’t see him overreacting or doing something out of control. He’s staying calm. He knows he has to keep working, stay on the process and I can’t wait to see him be the Spencer Jones that everyone wants to see.
When Juan Soto appeared at his first press conference at Yankees spring training this year, he wore a T-shirt with some lofty praise on the front: “The Generational Juan Soto.”
Martir offered something similar for catcher Agustín Ramírez.
“I think he might be like a generational player, right,” Martir said. “Like, not many guys at his age — kids, you know — make contact as much as he does and also hit the ball as hard as he does with the bat speed. He’s an outlier, for sure.”
Time will tell whether Ramírez is, in fact, generational. But he’s been impressive this season.
Another day, another 100+ MPH XBH for Agustin Ramirez. Crazy raw power from this guy. pic.twitter.com/Ox21lDaPOc
— Ryan Garcia (@RyanGarciaESM) June 2, 2024
Going into Tuesday, the 22-year-old was hitting .271 with 35 RBIs and a .926 OPS in 45 games. His 12 home runs were tied with only Ben Rice for the most in the Yankees’ minor leagues. He had nearly as many walks (27) as strikeouts (35). He’s averaged an exit velocity of 94 mph, he’s maxed out at 115 mph and 25 percent of the balls he’s put in play have been hit at 105 mph or harder, Martir said. The Yankees put Ramírez on the 40-man roster in the offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Currently, he’s likely fourth on the Yankees’ catcher depth chart, behind third catcher Carlos Narváez at Triple-A.
Ramírez wasn’t on The Athletic’s list of top 20 Yankees prospects to start the season.
“He got that power since he got into the organization,” Raul Dominguez said. “He’s just working on his objectives. Trying to put the ball in the air. You hit the ball hard, and you got the launch angle down, you’re going to hit homers. He’s working on their objectives to put the ball in the air.”
Ben Rice, first baseman?
Rice, ranked by Law as the Yankees’ No. 20 prospect, has played 111 career games at catcher and 50 at first base. But this season, it’s been more of an even split, with 17 games at first base and 21 behind the plate. He was slated to catch ace Gerrit Cole’s rehab assignment on Tuesday night.
But he had played eight of his previous 13 games at first — and, recently, Rice said he was getting comfortable there and manager Raul Dominguez said that Rice had been making strides at the position.
“If first base was ever where they need me to be, I’d be able to go over there,” Rice said.
Going into Tuesday, Rice, 25, was hitting .256 with 26 RBIs and an .883 OPS in 48 games.
“He knows what he wants to do getting up to the plate,” Martir said. “He trains really hard. He’s doing his homework the night before on the starting pitcher, even relievers. Also, the guy’s like a live camera. He remembers everything from the at-bat before or a year before. … That’s really hard to come by.”
(Photo of Jones courtesy of Somerset Patriots)
