Spencer Jones is a key figure in the New York Yankees’ depth chart for the upcoming season. He should be manager Aaron Boone’s fourth outfielder after the starting trio of Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham.
A particular aspect of Jones’ playing profile has been an evolution in his batting stance. During his initial years in the Yankees organization, he started with an open stance with high hands. Two years ago, he dropped his hands lower. Last year, he generated a leg kick that was similar to Judge’s batting stance.
This year, looking to make an impact in Spring Training and get his MLB debut, Jones has yet again shifted to a new stance. This time he has adopted a toe-tap movement very similar to Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s coil before his swing.
Jones found immediate success hitting a home run in his first at-bat of Spring Training against Detroit Tigers pitcher Keider Montero during the Yankees’ 20-3 win last Saturday at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
On their Wednesday edition of Talkin’ Yanks podcast, analysts Jake Storiale and Jimmy O’Brien assessed his new swing.
“The good things to put in your pocket: batting stances do change a lot generically over baseball,” Storiale said. “You need to constantly be tinkering with it because unless you are the 1% of the 1% of the 1%—like we even see Judge kind of mess around with his stance—in this game, you always need to be tinkering.”
O’Brien concluded that Jones’ shift away from Judge’s leg kick to Ohtani’s toe-tap movement could be primarily because of his body type.
“It’s interesting because that’s not Judge’s swing. Judge has the big leg kick; every Spring he tries to have it without one and usually never takes it into the season,” O’Brien said. “Jones is a different body than Judge. He can’t copy what Judge is. Spencer Jones is more of that wide-shoulder swimmer’s body, which is more like Ohtani’s.”
Spencer Jones Gives Insight Into Shohei Ohtani-Like Stance
Last Saturday after Jones impressed with his new swing against the Tigers, the Yankees outfielder was asked about his inspiration.
“He’s a great reference of a really good mover with a great swing,” Jones told reporters postgame. “He’s one of those guys that I look at with some of the stuff he does, and I try to apply it in whichever way I can.”
Jones has been unable to get a hit since his home run, hitting at .200 in six plate appearances in Spring Training. He at .274 with 35 home runs, 80 RBIs and 29 stolen bases in two minor-league levels last year.
