MLB Pipeline's latest top 100 affirms Yankees have a Spencer Jones problem

Throughout Yankees top prospect Spencer Jones' difficult adjustment period to the higher levels of pro ball, the one thing we could always count on was that his tools were loud enough for the scouting community to maintain faith in him and deliver high marks for his potential.

That is no longer unilaterally the case.

On Tuesday night, MLB Pipeline dropped their midseason Top 100 Prospects list update, and if it wasn't annoying enough to spot five Red Sox in the top 80 -- including first-round stealBraden Montgomery, who signed underslot for whatever reason -- Jasson Dominguez was revealed as the only Yankee worth ranking these days.

No Oswald Peraza, who's understandably fallen off the map (though he's about to be called upon by the big club, which should go well). No Chase Hampton, who's battled an elbow sprain and lower body issue, tossing under 20 innings this season. And no Jones! You can only be so toolsy with 156 Ks in 94 games before people start asking questions.

Yankees' Spencer Jones falls out of MLB Pipeline's Top 100 list

On a positive note, Dominguez is finally receiving the respect he deserves, popping in at No. 17 and sandwiched between Brooks Lee of the Twins and Jac Caglianone, the unicorn Royals' first-round pick from 2024.

But losing Jones from the list entirely is a wild development. Prevailing wisdom prior to 2024 was that he had the potential to rise massively by end of year from the 60-80 range, and had the potential to be a top-10 prospect in the game, if things followed a positive trajectory. Spoiler alert: they did not, even if he works to salvage his season late with a .333 average/1.012 OPS in the first 10 games of August.

He can still do things that few other players, especially at his size, are capable of. He's a plus defender, and he'll always have a place in the game if he can get his strikeouts down to even an "ehhh, okay, pretty bad, but fine" level.

At this moment, though, the K rate is glaring, and it's clear the Yankees are stuck with attempting to develop him themselves after overvaluing him in Dylan Cease trade conversations this offseason. Dealing him for a rental in Corbin Burnes would've been tough to stomach, rather than a pitcher with control attached, but ... hey, if he's out of the Top 100 months later, all sorts of nightmare memories are now up for grabs and back in the conversation. Great.