Yankees MILB 7/20: Spencer Jones Has Gone Bananas
Notes:
According to the Baseball America signing tracker, 8th-round pick Mac Heuer has signed his name on the dotted line. The Yankees have signed all of their picks from the first ten rounds.
The 21-year-old right-handed pitcher made 14 starts for Texas Tech in 2025, going 2-4 with a 6.28 ERA in 53 innings with a 48/23 K/BB. He was originally drafted by the Cleveland Guardians in 2023 but opted to go to college for two years. He also has Cape Cod League roots, throwing 6.2 innings as a 19-year-old in 2023.
I assume that his talent exceeds his performance, which makes sense. He is a big kid (6’5″) who supposedly hums in the mid-to-upper 90s.
In case you are wondering, first-round pick Dax Kilby received an overslot bonus of $2.8 million. The slot was $2,509,500. The Yankees saved slot money with 5th-round pick Core Jackson, who had low leverage as a college senior. When you look at the savings from his bonus, it covers what Kilby signed for. Jackson is a shortstop out of the University of Utah.
We are still waiting on confirmation on RHP Brennan Stuprich (14th round; Southeastern Louisiana), SS Jackson Lovich (16th; Missouri), and RHP Hayden Morris (19th; Blinn College (JC)). It appears that Stuprich and Lovich are signed but haven’t been added to the tracker. Morris has leverage as a Junior College kid. He could opt to go to a 4-year school.
So far, their picks between the 11th and 20th rounds have signed for the standard $150,000, which is more than Jackson received. You are allowed to sign players in these rounds for more than $150,000, but any money over that counts against your bonus pool.
Scranton (55-37; 17-3 in second half) (Knocked out Worcester, 8-2, for their 11th straight win)
LF Everson Pereira: 1-for-5, HR (18), RBI, R, 2 K
Pereira, who is being overshadowed by a certain someone, has homered in three straight games.
CF Spencer Jones: 4-for-5, 2B (5), 2 HR (10), 2 RBI, 4 R, K (second straight 4-hit effort)
This is getting ridiculous. Today’s first home run was hit 445 feet at 109.6 MPH to center. He ties Ryan Ward (who hits minor league home runs for a living) for the overall minor league lead with 26. Last night, I commented that he was tied for first amongst all minor leaguers in OPS. After the dust cleared, he ended up being 0.01 points behind Mike Sirota. He should be in first place now in both OPS and wRC+ after today!
One of the criticisms (beyond the strikeouts) was his ground ball rate. This year, he has lowered that considerably, from 42.3% in 2024 to 30.7% (entering today). His percentages portray a player who hits the ball to all fields (not dead pull). That showed itself today, as his home runs were to center field and left field.
He is hitting .426/.481/.941 (1.422 OPS) since his promotion (16 games; 79 PA). That’s right: Jones has five doubles and ten home runs in 16 Triple-A games and 13 doubles/26 HR in 65 games overall.
C Rafael Flores: 2-for-5, R, K
Fans in Scranton get to witness the multi-hit machine Flores is for the first time today. This is his 29th multi-hit effort this season.
1B T.J. Rumfield: 3-for-4, 2B (24), RBI, R, HBP
Rumfield is 16-for-31 (.516) during his 8-game hitting streak. He has eight multi-hit efforts in his last 11 games and is up to .311/.394/.505.
3B Jeimer Candelario: 2-for-5, 2B (6), 2 RBI, R, 2 K
Candelario is 7-for-40 (.175) with a pair of doubles since being signed.
RF Bryan De La Cruz: 0-for-3, HBP, K
RF Ismael Munguia: 1-for-1
DH Jose Rojas: 0-for-3, SF, RBI, HBP, K
2B Nicky Lopez: 0-for-4, BB
SS Andrew Velazquez: 0-for-4, 2 K
RHP Carlos Carrasco: (W, 3-2) 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, HR
RHP Bailey Dees: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Bees’ Triple-A debut. He is a big kid who doesn’t wow you with velocity (maxed at 93.3 MPH). He also mixed in a slider and a changeup. It was nice to get some Savant data.
RHP Leonardo Pestana: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
Somerset (48-42; 13-8 in second half) (Lost to Hartford, 3-2)
SS George Lombard Jr.: 1-for-4, HR (4), 2 RBI, R, K
Since the break: 4-for-14 with two doubles and two home runs (he has homered in back-to-back games). This follows a solid effort in the Futures Game over All-Star Weekend.
2B Roc Riggio: 0-for-4, 2 K
RF Jace Avina: 1-for-3, BB
Avina is 4-for-20 with a double and a homer since his promotion.
CF Brendan Jones: 1-for-4, K
Nice to see him get a hit, but the description of it in the 9th wasn’t flattering. Down 3-2 with one out in the 9th, he seemingly singled and was instantly caught in a rundown for the second out. I would have to see this play because it’s very odd in its description.
DH Dylan Jasso: 0-for-3, BB, K
PR Cam Eden: 0-for-0
C Omar Martinez: 0-for-4, K
1B Tyler Hardman: 0-for-3, 2 K
LF Cole Gabrielson: 0-for-3, K
3B Max Burt: 0-for-1, R, 2 HBP
LHP Ben Shields: (L, 1-1) 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
At this level: 2.89 ERA (18.2 IP, 15 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 0 HR, 7 BB, 23 K).
RHP Luis Pacheco: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
RHP Kelly Austin: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K
RHP Michael Arias: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
His rehab stint is over, as he was officially assigned here (instead of going to Scranton).
Hudson Valley (52-35; 14-9 second half) (Their game against Jersey Shore was postponed due to wet grounds. They will try to make it up on August 20th. Drenching rain crushed the Jersey Shore area overnight.)
Tampa (45-43; 9-14 in second half) (Lost to Dunedin, 7-1)
C Edgleen Perez: 0-for-3, 2 BB, K
.206/.369/.230 in 358 PA. Since I declared he was figuring on this level: 0-for-23 with only three of his trademark walks.
SS Roderick Arias: 2-for-5, 2 K
Arias is again pushing to reach .200 for the first time this season. He is at .198/.318/.304 and has three multi-hit efforts in his last seven games.
DH Engelth Urena: 0-for-4, 2 K
CF Willy Montero: 0-for-4, 2 K
3B Juan Matheus: 1-for-3, R, 4 SB (35), BB
Stolen base rates: Before 2025: 38-for-55 (69.1%) in 109 games. 2025: 35-for-43 (81.4%) in 83 games.
RF Marshall Toole: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
The 11-game hitting streak is snapped. Toole is hitting .312/.418/.498 in 244 PA (12 doubles, 10 triples, 2 HR, 27 RBI, 46 R, 27-for-30 SB). He leads the Florida State League in batting average and (shockingly) slugging percentage despite hitting only two home runs. Additionally, he is second in OBP.
LF Hans Montero: 2-for-4, RBI, K
Montero, who is hitting .254/.335/.408, is adapting to his utility role. He has added 1B/LF/RF to 2B/3B this season. He no longer plays shortstop.
2B Owen Cobb: 1-for-4
1B Josue Gonzalez: 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
RHP Cade Smith: 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
The 23-year-old’s rehab was moved from the FCL to here today. He touched 94.9 MPH with his four-seamer and used his entire arsenal. I am not sure I trust Savant’s data, which suggests he mixed six pitches. His best three pitches are his slider, curve, and 4-seamer. According to Pipeline, Smith is their 14th-ranked prospect
LHP Tanner Bauman: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K
RHP Mariano Salomon: (L, 0-3) 2.1 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 2 HR
RHP Chris Veach: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, HR
1.86 ERA (38.2 IP, 28 H, 13 R, 8 ER, 4 HR, 20 BB, 52 K). Veach can dial it up to the mid-90s, which is important for his bread-and-butter changeup.
FCL (26-29)
Day off.
DSL Yankees (14-20)
Day off.
DSL Bombers (17-17)
Day off.