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Spencer Jones (Mike Janes/Four Seam Images)
If a six-week summer stretch showed everyone why Spencer Jones remains a fascinating prospect, then the six weeks since then have offered a reminder about why he’s also far from a sure bet.
From mid June through the end of July, Jones hit 18 home runs in 32 games while slashing .388/.457/.860. It made the 24-year-old Yankees outfield prospect one of the big stories in baseball in the lead-up to the trade deadline. New York ended up holding on to Jones, and since August 1, Jones’ season has seen a return to the issues that have long slowed his development.
In the 38 games from Aug. 1 to now, Jones has hit four home runs while posting a .190/.253/.327 slash line. Much more worryingly, he’s striking out 43.8% of the time while walking just 6.8% of the time. Jones has long been a three true outcomes hitter, but since the start of August, he’s only putting the ball in play in half of his plate appearances.
During Jones’ hot stretch in June and July, he was making more contact and reaping the rewards that came with it—including a return to the Top 100 Prospects list. But now that the strikeout problems have returned, he’s once again struggling to hit.
Overall, Jones’ season has been a step forward from last year. But his Triple-A numbers (.269/.333/.547 with a 36.7% strikeout rate) are now only “good” rather than exceptional. This is a season that Jones can build on going into 2026, but his potentially career-derailing strikeout rate remains a real worry.
Comparing Jones’ Strikeout Rates
So, what’s changed between Jones’ hot streak and his recent cold streak?
Luck plays a small part. Jones has homered on four of the past 45 balls (8.8%) he’s hit in the air. Five more of those long fly balls were caught on the warning track. With a bit of favorable wind, Jones could have two or three more homers, which would improve his sagging power production.
For comparison’s sake, Jones homered on 18 of 61 balls he hit in the air (29.5%) during his mid-summer hot streak, with only three of those balls being reeled in on the warning track.
Bad luck is one thing, but mainly, Jones isn’t making enough contact for it to matter. Below, you can see Jones’ 14-day rolling strikeout rate for the 2025 season. I’ve made a few of these types of charts over the years—most notably when the Reds’ Elly De La Cruz was trying to tame his own strikeout…