SCRANTON, Pa. — The New York Yankees thought they had this one figured out months ago. Aaron Judge in right, Cody Bellinger locked in left on a five-year deal, and Trent Grisham collecting $22 million to patrol center field. No room, no debate, no problem.
Spencer Jones did not get that memo.
The Yankees’ No. 6 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, is three games into the 2026 Triple-A season at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and already hitting .333/.385/.667 with a home run and three RBIs. That follows a spring training performance that left the organization with nowhere to hide. Over 13 Grapefruit League games, Jones slashed .357/.455/1.071 with six home runs, 11 RBIs, and a 1.526 OPS. He posted a 265 wRC+ and cut his strikeout rate to 24.2 percent, a marked improvement over the numbers that have shadowed his career.
The Yankees sent him to Triple-A anyway. At the time, that was the sensible call. Right now, it is starting to look like a problem.
Exit velocity that turns heads even in the minors
Jones is not just hitting in Triple-A. He is hitting hard. According to MLB.com, five of his first seven batted balls this season came off the bat at 104.1 mph or faster. His first home run of the year traveled a projected 397 feet at an exit velocity of 109.1 mph. A single in the same game registered at 113.6 mph, ranking among the hardest-tracked balls he has posted at the Triple-A level.
The 6-foot-7, 240-pound outfielder is 24 years old and turns 25 in May. He hit 35 home runs a season ago across Double-A and Triple-A, posting a 153 wRC+, stealing 29 bases in 116 games, and slugging .571 combined. Over his first 70 Triple-A games dating back to 2025, Jones was hitting at a 40-homer pace with a .904 OPS and a 133 wRC+.
There is also the defensive piece that gets overlooked. Jones can play center field. For a player of his size, his routes are clean, his reads off the bat are above average, and his arm is strong. That matters for a Yankees team whose center fielder, Grisham, is on a short-term deal and has faced questions about his bat.
The strikeout problem has not gone away
The spring improvements on contact rate have not fully carried over to Scranton. Jones is striking out at a 38.5 percent clip through his first three games, and his walk rate has dipped to 7.7 percent after sitting at 15.2 percent during spring training.
Last season, he struck out 179 times in 506 plate appearances. That is a rate that draws real scrutiny when projecting performance against major league pitching. Big league arms will attack him inside with hard fastballs once they identify that keeping his swing compact with the ball on his hands is a challenge.
Manager Aaron Boone offered pointed advice when Jones was reassigned to minor league camp. “As much as you can, don’t focus on things that right now might be out of your control a little bit,” Boone said.
The guidance is pointed but simple: produce, control what you can, and let the roster situation sort itself out. So far, Jones is holding up his end.
Dominguez struggling in the field at Triple-A
If Jones is the rising story in the Yankees’ system right now, Jasson Dominguez is the complicating one.
The 23-year-old was also optioned to Triple-A to open the 2026 season. Dominguez appeared in 123 games with New York a year ago and showcased real offensive ability, posting a 115 wRC+ before fading in August as his role became less consistent. He hits better from the left side of the plate and has genuine speed.
His glove, however, remains a liability. Dominguez posted minus-nine outs above average in left field last season, according to Baseball Savant. He is a corner outfielder at best at this stage of his career, and even in that role, the defensive metrics raise flags.
The concerns have followed him to Scranton. Early defensive miscues have drawn attention from fans and analysts alike, with frustration growing that a second full offseason has not produced visible improvement.
“But it’s year 2 now man and you had a WHOLE offseason to work on not looking like the worst fielder in baseball,” Chris Coop of Yankees Stats wrote on X. “Very frustrating cause I know the bat is going to bang, I mean hell he was a 115 wRC+ up until August when he stopped getting as much consistent play.”
Two prospects, one opening, a front office choice to make
The Yankees are not going to manufacture a roster spot. Judge and Bellinger are not moving. Grisham is in center on a contract that insulates him from being displaced by a hot minor leaguer in March.
The most direct path to the Bronx for either prospect runs through an injury or a prolonged slump from one of the three starters, or through Giancarlo Stanton’s availability at designated hitter. If any of those openings appear, the Yankees will need to make a choice.
Dominguez has the advantage of major league experience. The Yankees may trust that familiarity in situations requiring immediate production. But Jones offers something Dominguez currently does not: the ability to play center field without being a defensive negative, which matters when evaluating how a call-up would actually fit the roster.
There is also the age factor. Jones turns 25 in May. A player who has never reached the major leagues at that age begins to shed the prospect label in a way that affects both his perceived value and potential trade appeal. If the Yankees do not give him a sustained opportunity this season, the conversation about his role in the organization will grow considerably more complicated by winter.
For now, the Yankees are content to keep watching. Jones is making sure they cannot look away.
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