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Yankees OF Spencer Jones (Photo by Tom DiPace)
Entering the season, it was no secret that Yankees prospect Spencer Jones needed to make more contact. In spring training, things looked rosy. He went 8-for-18 with a home run and just three strikeouts in Grapefruit League play, and added two long home runs in the Yankees’ Spring Breakout game against the Blue Jays.
In the regular season, however, the picture was much different. With Double-A Somerset’s season having wrapped up Sunday, Jones finished the regular season at 200 strikeouts, just six behind Nationals prospect Elijah Green for the most in all the minor leagues.
In doing so, Jones put his name in a chapter of the record books he’d rather avoid: He has the most strikeouts ever by a Yankees minor leaguer.
According to research from Baseball Reference, the previous mark of 195 was set by Tim Battle in 2005. The only other Yankees farmhand with more than 190 strikeouts in a single season was Cody Johnson, the former Braves prospect who latched on with New York at the end of his professional career.
In fact, two of the system’s all-time strikeout seasons happened this season, as shortstop Roderick Arias struck out 171 times at Low-A in 2024, a total which places him at seventh all-time among Yankees farmhands and in a five-way tie for tenth in the minor leagues this season.
In reaching 200 strikeouts, Jones became just the 13th minor leaguer to do so since 2006. Only one—Giants outfielder Jerar Encarnacion—is currently in the big leagues.
It is worth noting that the strikeout rate across the minors has gone up significantly in recent years. There have been seven players to reach 200 MiLB strikeouts in the past three seasons, where there were only seven from 2001-2021.
The Eastern League’s strikeout rate for instance has gone from 18% to 24% over the past decade. Jones’ strikeout rate was 36.7% in 2024.
The complete list of the MiLB 200 K club in the 21st century is below. The entire group has a combined 311 big league at-bats, 165 of which belong to Encarnacion.
| Player | Season | Strikeout Total | Strikeout % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lazaro Armenteros | 2019 | 227 | 42.19% |
| Monte Harrison | 2018 | 215 | 36.88% |
| Craig Dedelow | 2022 | 214 | 38.63% |
| Braxton Davidson | 2018 | 213 | 44.28% |
| Drew Lugbauer | 2022 | 212 | 38.20% |
| Gage Workman | 2022 | 206 | 40.00% |
| Elijah Green | 2024 | 206 | 44.02% |
| Adam Brett Walker | 2016 | 202 | 38.04% |
| Brewer Hicklen | 2022 | 202 | 36.14% |
| Dusty Coleman | 2014 | 201 | 36.28% |
| Robert… |