Yankees got up-close and personal view of Spencer Jones' worst attribute before option

When the New York Yankees called up Spencer Jones on May 8 to make his Major League debut against the Milwaukee Brewers, it was an undeniably exciting moment for fans. Jones, despite his flaws, has always been an intriguing prospect on the Yankees' farm, and a hot start in Triple-A this season only enhanced the buzz.

With Jones, 25, having labored in the Minors for four-plus seasons, plenty of Yankees observers began wondering if Jones' development has ultimately been spoiled by a lack of opportunity at the MLB level in New York, due to the Yankees' sufficient outfield depth. Jones of late has been viewed as the classic "too good for Triple-A but not good enough for MLB" case. And sadly, Jones' performance on the big-league stage this month, though a small sample size, only reiterated that he's not exactly a can't-miss MLB outfield prospect ... due entirely to his unsolved strikeout problem.

Spencer Jones' Achilles heel factored heavily into his first taste of MLB baseball for Yankees

Jones' 45.8% strikeout rate and a 73% in-zone contact rate across 10 games for the Yankees (24 at-bats) reminded all Yankees fans that this is just who Jones is. He's a gifted athlete with a ton of raw power at the plate — not to mention awesome speed that makes him a rangy defensive outfielder and a threat on the basepaths — but he is and always has been a walking strikeout.

There is a certain segment of Yankees fans who have tried to ignore this glaring flaw of Jones', covering it up by making outrageous player comparisons for him and acting like he can become a superstar.

But realists evaluating Jones understand that any argument for his promotion has always been marred by that strikeout rate, as Jones, despite all his talents, too often operates as a black hole in the lineup.

Spencer Jones should be celebrated for his journey so far with Yankees

Let's not get too negative here, either. No player is perfect, and Jones should be lauded for his career perseverance to this point, which, again, involved putting his head down and working hard for four-plus seasons before getting an MLB call-up. There's a reason Yankees manager Aaron Boone said it was "tough" to have to option Jones back to Triple-A this week. Jones is by all accounts a great kid who wants to be a great baseball player and puts in all the work to become one.

It remains to be seen whether Jones will become a trade chip this July. He hasn't exactly skyrocketed his value by reminding everyone how much he strikes out, but there's always the possibility that a front office out there believes its staff could unlock Jones and fix his main issue in a way that the Yankees have failed to so far.

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