After the New York Yankees lost one of their long-ballyhooed prospects to injury on Thursday, May 7, they called up the latest much-anticipated rookie to the major leagues.
Spencer Jones, the 6-foot-7 power-hitting, base-stealing lefty swinger with a penchant for striking out, will be called up to the Yankees roster, the New York Post first reported. Jones’ promotion comes hours after left fielder Jasson Dominguez suffered a sprained shoulder crashing into the wall making a first-inning catch in their 9-2 victory over the Texas Rangers at Yankee Stadium.
Jones, 24, was drafted 25th overall out of Vanderbilt in 2022 and has hit the ball very hard and far from the jump, with an .848 career OPS and 83 homers in 415 career minor league games.
The pattern continued this spring, as Jones posted a .958 OPS and hit 11 homers for Class AAA Somerset. Yet his swing-and-miss habit has hung around, as well, as he’s struck out 32.4% of the time in his 142 plate appearances. That rate is almost identical to his 32.7% career mark.
But that-swing-and-miss is accompanied by a maximum exit velocity of 117.4 mph, tops in Class AAA this season.
Jones also brings an athletic dimension to his game, with a career-best 43 steals in 55 attempts in 2023; he stole 29 in 35 attempts across Class AA and AAA last season. He was ranked the No. 46 overall prospect by Baseball America in 2024, but has since fallen out of the top 100; Jones is currently the consensus No. 6 prospect in the Yankees’ system.
Meanwhile, Dominguez suffered yet another frustrating setback in his efforts to stick as a full-time major leaguer. He hit the chain-link fence hard reeling in a drive by Rangers leadoff batter Brandon Nimmo, held onto the ball, but stayed down on the ground for several minutes, eventually walking to a cart to leave the field.
He underwent concussion tests, which were negative, and an MRI that revealed a low grade AC sprain, manager Aaron Boone told reporters after the Yankees victory. Dominguez, the former top 20 overall prospect, had six hits in 30 at-bats after his recall late last month.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Spencer Jones called up by Yankees; Jasson Dominguez injured
