Yankees call up prospect Spencer Jones for MLB debut
NEW YORK — The New York Yankees are selling slugger Spencer Jones from Triple A to the majors forward of this weekend’s sequence towards the Milwaukee Brewers, with Jasson Domínguez headed to the injured list after slamming into the outfield wall throughout Thursday’s 9-2 win over the Texas Rangers.
Jones has been on a tear for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders this season, posting a .958 OPS with 11 dwelling runs and an International League-leading 41 RBIs.
“I feel like the last three, four weeks, he’s been having a lot of consistent at-bats,” Yankees supervisor Aaron Boone mentioned. “The power has been there, less swing-and-miss, which is some of the things we were seeing a little bit in spring training after that second week in Triple A where he went and struggled a little bit with the swing-and-miss. He’s cleaned that up. The signs have been encouraging.”
Jones was ranked as the Yankees’ No. 7 prospect coming into the 2026 season by TheAthletic‘s Keith Law.
The 25-year-old outfielder will instantly turn into some of the fascinating gamers within the majors. Jones’ 71.1 % in-zone contact proportion in Triple A can be the second-worst amongst all huge leaguers; solely Chicago White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami’s mark is decrease. Murakami has possessed otherworldly energy in his first month within the huge leagues, and the Yankees hope Jones can observe an identical path.
“It is special,” Max Schuemann, Jones’ former teammate at Triple A, mentioned of the prospect’s energy.
New York additionally recalled right-handed reliever Kervin Castro from Triple A on Friday. Castro, who final pitched within the majors in 2022 for the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs, had a 3.14 ERA in 11 appearances this season for the RailRiders.
Domínguez is predicted to overlook a couple of weeks with an AC joint sprain in his left shoulder. He was taking part in practically daily since Giancarlo Stanton was positioned on the IL with a calf pressure. That means Jones could possibly be in line for an identical function, with the outfielder taking part in towards right-handed pitching and Paul Goldschmidt getting at-bats versus lefties.
Jones overhauled his mechanics this offseason to imitate Los Angeles Dodgers celebrity Shohei Ohtani’s swing. The thought course of behind the choice was that almost all of Jones’ whiffing issues associated to his excessive leg kick. Jones now has an exaggerated toe faucet like Ohtani, however the ends in lowering his swing-and-miss have been combined. Last season at Scranton, Jones’ whiff fee was 41.5 %, and this season it’s 43.8 %, in keeping with Prospect Savant. But Jones’ total strikeout proportion has dropped by a couple of proportion factors 12 months over 12 months.
“I think the biggest thing that I’ve noticed swing-wise is he’s just ready to hit,” Judge mentioned about Jones’ new mechanics throughout spring coaching. “The minute he puts that foot down with the little toe-tap, he’s ready to hit. Maybe they might have got him with a lot of high heaters in the past or even last season. I think that’s just going to help him. He doesn’t have a big leg kick; he doesn’t have to worry about getting that down.
“That quickness, that readiness is really going to be a game-changer for him.”
The Yankees drafted Jones in the first round out of Vanderbilt in 2022 and gave him a $2,880,800 signing bonus. He was once considered a top-100 prospect by Baseball America, but because of concerns about his lack of contact, his pedigree has fallen. Still, there are reasons to be excited about his potential because few players across all levels can hit baseballs the way he can.
Last week, Jones clobbered a 117.4 mph home run off former Toronto Blue Jays starter José Berríos. At 117.4 mph batted ball would be the third-hardest in MLB this season. The 6-foot-7 left-handed hitter shouldn’t have problems running into a few pitches, but how effective he’ll be against major-league pitching will be closely examined over the next few weeks with Domínguez and Stanton sidelined.
“That’s a big man that hits the ball very far,” Cody Bellinger said of Jones. “Honestly, a freak athlete, too. I did not know (about) the velocity. He’s very athletic, strikes effectively and is only a good baseball participant.”
