Yankees top prospect Spencer Jones' stance looks completely different and it's working

The New York Yankees held top prospect Spencer Jones out of trade talks last offseason because they knew there was a monster lurking somewhere in there and didn't want to be embarrassed by somebody else making the necessary tweaks to unlock it. Jones' whiff rate is still remarkably high, and he's a flawed prospect, even at his peak. Still ... after a year of tinkering ... it seems the Yankees have finally made progress, and the differences are stark.

Jones remains at Double-A Somerset for a second season (after a brief cameo at the end of 2023 as well), and the strikeouts haven't gone anywhere (25 in his first 18 games). Still, his power has manifested in a league-leading seven bombs, ranging from oppo lofts to titanic pull shots.

He's looked completely different doing it, too, crouching and nearly stepping across the plate in order to punish outside pitches.

Not only has Jones' stance changed year-over-year, but he also appears to have made a fairly drastic overhaul to his point of attack between February and today. As seen in this video, the Jones who reported to spring training is not the Jones who currently leads the Eastern League in homers (7).

Yankees top prospect Spencer Jones' new batting stance (since February!) has fueled hot start to 2025 season

Keeping Jones and signing Dylan Cease was always the plan anyhow. At least that's what we're telling ourselves.

Jones' tangible changes at the plate have helped his cause for a Triple-A promotion — and so has his traditionally elite defense and surprising speed, which have also been on display.

Is center field Jones' long-term position? It's still too early to say. Hell, it's too early to consider possible big-league blockers before he's even reached the highest level of the minors.

For now, though, after a first half marred by stuck-in-the-mud numbers last year, it's been a breath of fresh air to watch Jones carry over and build upon his August 2024 success after an offseason where he was quite obviously in the lab.

Entering play on Friday, Jones wasn't just the Double-A Eastern League's home run leader. In fact, he led the entire minors in blasts.

With the understanding that nothing he does will matter to some folks until he reaches Triple-A, and nothing will matter to other folks until he does it in the bigs, it's still impressive to see Jones finally approaching some lofty heights (and making tangible changes in order to come closer to his considerably high ceiling).