Yankees prospect Spencer Jones: Boom or bust?

Nothing in baseball tantalizes like the hyped prospect.

Whether hitter or pitcher, that kind of prospect universally excites and energizes a fan base — whether it be of a winning organization or a losing one.

Fans (and teams) dream about the prospect becoming the next Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Bobby Witt Jr., Gerrit Cole, David Price or Paul Skenes.

In this age of relentless, breathless coverage of prospects that starts in rookie league ball — the noise from the hype machine, which every club encourages in its own way, whirs at an ear-splitting level by the time a given prospect reaches Double-A — few envision the next Brian Matusz, Mark Appel, Riley Pint, Nick Senzel, Bubba Starling or Clint Frazier.

The latter group represents only a few members of the vast wasteland of first-round picks from the last 20 years who turned out to be the dreaded “B” word — bust.

So what do the Yankees have in outfielder Spencer Jones — the franchise’s first-round pick (25th overall) out of Vanderbilt in 2022 — who, from the time he was drafted, unfairly but somewhat understandably because of his size, has drawn comparisons with Aaron Judge?

His true big-league potential should start to come into focus in spring training.

At this past week’s general managers' meetings in Las Vegas, Yankees GM Brian Cashman said Jones, who finished last season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, has put himself “in the conversation” when it comes to breaking camp with the club for Opening Day.

“[In] some other organizations, he would’ve been in the big leagues probably already last year,” Cashman said.

Though that no doubt is true — the sheer number of bad teams in the sport makes it true — that doesn’t necessarily mean Jones is next level-ready.

The 6-7, 240-pound Jones, who will turn 25 on May 14, hit .274 with 19 homers, 19 stolen bases and an .897 OPS in 67 games with Scranton after a late-June promotion from Double-A Somerset (where he hit .274 with 16 homers, 10 stolen bases and a .984 OPS in 49 games).

But the same issue that plagued him at the start of his professional career — strikeouts — plagues him still.

The lefthanded-hitting Jones, who has played primarily in centerfield but also has seen sporadic time at the corner outfield positions, struck out 70 times in 208 plate appearances with Somerset before fanning 109 times in 298 plate appearances with Scranton (he struck out 200 times in 544 plate appearances in 124 games with Somerset in 2024).

After homering three times for Scranton on July 24, Jones hit .219 with six homers and a .678 OPS in the season’s final 51 games, striking out 90 times in 218 plate appearances.

“He gets so easily disconnected in his swing,” said one rival American League scout who saw Jones play in  Double-A and Triple-A, including at season’s end, in 2025. “He really comes off the ball, which makes him susceptible to [pitchers] changing speeds, changing eye level. I know he’s put up big numbers, but I can’t imagine any pitcher with decent command and decent stuff at the major league level him having success against right now.”

A National League scout who also saw Jones throughout the season referenced similar issues with the prospect’s swing, which brought to mind the 6-10 Randy Johnson saying “it’s not a tall man’s game” shortly after being elected to the Hall of Fame.

“He just swings uphill and routinely flies off the ball,” the NL scout said. “There’s so many moving parts with a guy that size and his swing, and he seems to lose it [a lot] . . . Don’t get me wrong. I’ve seen him good, too, and he’s fine out there [in the field]. Runs well, athletic, good instincts. [At the plate], it depends what week you see him. You come away either really impressed or shaking your head.”

Jones understands the importance of 2026 when it comes to his big-league future. Cashman said Jones, whose work ethic has never been questioned at any of his stops in the minors, has been working out regularly, at the player’s request, at Yankee Stadium. Likely before year’s end, Jones will head to the club’s minor-league complex in Tampa, where a slew of players, including Judge, have homes and work out there starting in early January, if not earlier.

Jones’ trade value has dipped a bit the last two years, but Cashman  still is  asked plenty about him — “I’d take him for us, no question,” a second NL scout said — and his name will surface in those talks again this offseason as the Yankees address their significant roster needs.

If Jones is in a Yankees uniform when much of that roster-building work is done, he’ll enter a spring training that, despite the attention he’ll receive, isn’t yet make-or-break when it comes to his major-league prospects.

But that time is drawing nearer.

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.