Slugging Yankees top prospect Spencer Jones hits mysterious minor-league injured list

Minor League Baseball is the greatest. The outlandish promotions. The intimate stadiums. The small, but remarkably enthusiastic crowds. The bucket hats. But the one thing about Minor League Baseball that absolutely sucks? The mysterious seven-day injured list. And that's exactly where New York Yankees top prospect Spencer Jones finds himself this week.

But why? What's the diagnosis? And for how long? Aye, that's the rub about the minor-league IL. Seven days doesn't necessarily mean seven days. It can mean absolutely anything at all. Minor league teams treat the IL like hockey teams treat their public diagnoses. "Upper body injury ... yeah, it's in the top part of the body ... you'll see him in three months." The only place where "seven days" is used in more intimidating fashion is "The Ring".

Jones, who's woken up, changed his stance entirely (and evolved it as the month of April dragged on), and brought his consistent slug back, was scratched late from Sunday's lineup. After the mutual Monday off day to recharge, something was still apparently nagging Jones enough to result in an IL placement.

Somerset insiders revealed that the diagnosis, still mysterious, is apparently minor. But, without further details, we're going to go ahead and shake our fists at the seven-day IL regardless.

Yankees top prospect Spencer Jones hits minor-league injured list after Sunday lineup scratch

The sooner the Yankees can get Jones back, the better, as he's finally shown the signs of improvement they spent all of 2024 waiting for this past month. New York got aggressive with 19-year-old wunderkind George Lombard Jr. and promoted him to Somerset after he hit .329 at Hudson Valley to start the season.

That means they're all set at Double-A and could use an infusion of top prospect pedigree at Triple-A. Lombard Jr. repeated High-A to open 2025 after finishing the year there last season, but he didn't receive nearly as many repetitive reps as Jones. The slugging center fielder got the late Double-A callup in 2023, then slogged through an entire season in central Jersey last year before catching fire this season in his new hunched stance. Jones led the Eastern League with nine homers, posting a .926 OPS (and .228 average) before his Sunday scratch.

Add his marquee outfield defense and surprising speed, and you have an emerging talent in a totally unique mold. Or, fine, a Gallo mold. Hopefully, "seven days" doesn't turn into 14, 21, or 700.