Is Spencer Jones making a real push to earn Yankees' Opening Day roster spot?

Many are wondering, aren't they? Spencer Jones kicked off his time with the New York Yankees in spring training by hitting a 470-foot home run in his first at-bat. He went 5-for-5 with a walk, four runs scored and four RBI in his first seven plate appearances. Pretty awesome.

But no, not even a blistering spring training from this point forward will have Jones cracking the 2024 Opening Day roster. It's just not going to happen, especially if Jasson Dominguez's torrid 2023 showing didn't earn him that promotion.

Jones is still developing, folks. And there's still nearly a month of spring training left for his weaknesses be magnified. We obviously don't want that to happen, but if he's going to be facing more and more major league talent, the chances are his swing-and-miss tendencies might pop up again.

Not to mention, Jones has only played a handful of games above High-A, and trusted Yankees insider Jack Curry said we can expect the towering slugger to start 2024 at Double-A Somerset because the organization likes to see its top prospects "conquer each level."

That may not be the case with Jones, however. He didn't really "conquer" High-A, much like Dominguez very much didn't "conquer" Double-A. These are superior talents that might just be better when the lights are brightest, but it'll take time for us to know if that's the case for Jones. Dominguez, on the other hand, might be ready to prove that once he's healed from Tommy John surgery.

Is Spencer Jones making a real push to earn Yankees' Opening Day roster spot?

Last year, fans were ferociously calling for Dominguez to make the Opening Day roster, but ... context, people! The Yankees had no left fielder. Aaron Hicks was slated to be the starter, and the team's depth in the outfield was a collection of non-outfielders. Not to mention, Yankees fans knew Harrison Bader would succumb to the injury bug, which he did early on. Twice.

This time around? Jones would be the utmost of luxuries. The Yankees have Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo and Trent Grisham, with a slimmed down Giancarlo Stanton waiting in the wings. Dominguez is expected back in the middle of the season. There's literally no room for Jones at the moment, which is actually good, because he can take time to develop instead of having more pressure placed upon him than he already does.

No need to expedite Jones' promotion to the bigs. The Yankees have already telegraphed their faith in the former Vanderbilt star by refusing to trade him for Corbin Burnes or Dylan Cease.

Let the kid rake in spring training. Let the kid build a case for a promotion by taking his time working through the minor leagues. There are enough expectations heaped upon the Yankees' top prospects -- they really don't need any more.