Rank History
| Year | Team | Position | Team Rank | OFP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | CLE | 3B | 1 | 50 |
Grades Update: Nov 2020
| OFP | Role | Hit | Power | Field | Arm | Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 50 | 45 | 60 | 45 | 70 | 30 |
Nov 2020 Report
Evaluator: Justin Lada
Age: 23 yr
Height: 6-2
Weight: 185 lbs
Hits/Throws: L/R
Acquired: 2016 Draft - Round 2
RuleV: On 40-man
Physical Description: Tall, filled out, and well built. Looks the part. Big, physical presence on the diamond and in the batter's box. Broad shoulders, strong build throughout. Former hockey player. Better athlete than size might indicate.
Hit: High hands, with a horizontal barrel. Uses moderate let kick to close off and rotate hips in. Shows good pitch recognition and works counts. Uses hands to get barrel and bat into position. Some length in swing due to longer arms and deep hand load. Does have swing and miss in the concerns in the zone, but limits how much he chases. Platoon splits against lefties may limit overall offensive impact. Strikeout rate reflects working deep counts and some in zone swing and miss. Grade: 45
Power: Consistently drives the ball with authority. Shows strength and approach to drive the ball to all fields, especially to left-center as he lets the ball travel deep. Contact authority was on the ground to pull-side early in 2019 but in later looks after his bump to Double-A, he began to show more contact authority again to call fields, in the air. Grade: 60
Field: Footwork has improved to be average. Shows good reactions. Comes in on grounders well but overall range is below average despite athleticism. Grade: 45
Arm: Strong carry on throws from deep on the dirt. More than enough carry on a line and average accuracy. Double-plus on arm strength alone. Grade: 70
Run: Athleticism not reflected through speed. Timed him 4.38 home-to-first and is generally the same type of runner underway. Speed will not improve with the sheer size of his frame Grade: 30
Overall: Despite his physical size, Jones is a good athlete and has put in a massive effort of work to develop into a better defender at third base. He was a shortstop in high school and played hockey. Improving his footwork was a big key in improving his defense, and while it has come a long way, he's still going to end up fringe-average as a defender at the hot corner. Has the arm to play in a corner outfield position, where he worked out in Fall Instructs and will likely continue to get work at. His arm would be wasted at first base, but he's also worked there as well. Defense aside, his power and approach are his carrying tools. He shows the command of the strike zone and pitch recognition to be selective in his swing offerings and will carry a high on-base percentage as a result. His raw power hasn't completely materialized in games, but strength and contact authority show he has the kind of power to have the kind of bat that will make him an average regular at third base and a corner outfield position. Very strongly a three-true-outcomes type hitter who has platoon split issues against left handers but plate discipline and ability to drive the ball to the opposite field will allow him to be competitive against southpaws.
OFP: 50
Role: 50 - Average Everyday Regular
Risk: Moderate
