New York Yankees Joel Sherman The promising intrigue around Spencer Jones that should sway Yankees’ deadline plans By Joel Sherman Published July 31, 2026, 7:41 p.m. ET Spencer Jones celebrates after hitting a home run during the Yankees-Cubs game on July 31, 2026. Getty Images In his first 95 plate appearances in his age-24 rookie season, Spencer Jones hit .179 with four homers, a .608 OPS and struck out in 44.2 percent of his plate appearances.
You might have forgotten about that two-month cameo in 2016 that was so uninspiring that Judge went to spring training the following year having to win right field in a competition against Aaron Hicks. What he had was the knowledge from those 95 plate appearances of what major league pitching looked like. He went to his hitting laboratory in the offseason and emerged with a swing that is going to take him to Cooperstown.
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When Jones reached 95 plate appearances after Wednesday’s game, in his age-25 season, he was hitting .226 with three homers, a .697 OPS and had struck out in 40 percent of his plate appearances. You might not have noticed as he is yo-yoing up and down, but Jones is learning. His at-bats are getting better, including another homer Friday in a 2-0 win over the Cubs.
