Spencer Jones turned 25 on Thursday in what has been an eventful week.
He made his MLB debut in Milwaukee on May 8, got his first hit in the majors two days later and on Friday appeared in his first Subway Series game, serving as the DH against the Mets at Citi Field.
“I’m getting a lot of advice and support,” Jones said before going 2-for-4 with an RBI in Friday’s 5-2 win over the Mets at Citi Field. “I just want to meet and do my thing.”
Jones is still trying to prove himself at this level after being a breakout prospect for the Yankees, one with a lot of power to go along with a lot of hitting.
In his first five games, Jones went 1-for-12 with three walks and six strikeouts.
He walked in his last two games on Wednesday and hit the balls hard.
That’s the way it stood out for Aaron Boone.
“He struggled this week, as did many of our team,” Boone said. “I definitely think he was better than one song and a couple walks.”
The manager commented that he had seen the bats that were strong.
“I feel like if you watch his players every day, they’ve been competing,” Boone said. “He’s not in too much of a rush. He’s been on some pitches and he’s just missed a couple of pitches. I think he looks OK. He hasn’t got the results yet.”
And as both Boone and Jones noted, the 6-foot-7 slugger had a rough start in the big leagues, facing off against Milwaukee right-hander Jacob Misiorowski in his debut.
“That first day was an eye-opener,” Jones said of facing perhaps the toughest pitcher in MLB history.” Facing the guy with the best fastball in Major League Baseball the first time I stepped into the batter’s box was tough. I saw that he was throwing and I said to myself, ‘Get ready for a fastball.’ ”
Then he went up against Lefty Kyle Harrison of the Brewers.
“Those first two games were tough,” Boone said.
He hit two balls over 100 mph and picked up his first hit Sunday before a tough series in Baltimore.
“I got a lot of validation,” Jones said.
And he’s trying not to change the way he played coming up through the Yankees system.
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“The biggest thing for me is being comfortable doing what I’m doing and knowing it’s going to translate,” said Jones, who is deeply impressed by pitchers like Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger.
“I pick these guys’ brains and I’m very grateful for the opportunity,” Jones said. “And I’m learning that everyone here is really nice and here for a reason.”
