Call to the pen
Fansided

Detroit Tigers Outfielder JaCoby Jones Scouting Report

By Benjamin Chase

Aug 31, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers center fielder JaCoby Jones (40) hits a double in the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park. Detroit won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 31, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers center fielder JaCoby Jones (40) hits a double in the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park. Detroit won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

Detroit Tigers Infielder/Outfielder JaCoby Jones has influenced a number of games in his short time already in the major leagues. What kind of prospect is he? Could be an overlooked guy that turns into a star?!

Who Is He?

JaCoby Jones was drafted by the Houston Astros out of high school in the 19th round, but he chose to attend college at Louisiana State. After a very productive career at LSU, Jones was taken in the 3rd round of the 2015 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jones had incredible raw athleticism, and many teams saw the upside with the bat, but they believed his tools would need plenty of refinement, and that he would need to find a permanent position defensively as he split time between center field and shortstop in college, and his natural athleticism played a possibility at shortstop, but he was very raw at both short and center. The Pirates sent him to their short-season New York-Penn League team in Jamestown, where he hit .311/.358/.459 with a home run and 3 steals in 67 plate appearances, playing 10 games in center field and 5 at shortstop.

The Pirates sent Jones to low-A West Virginia in the South Atlantic League in 2014, and he played the entire season there, hitting .288/.347/.503 with 23 home runs and 17 stolen bases. He played the entire season at shortstop, though he showed only average range and mediocre coverage of second base.

He began 2015 at Bradenteon in the high-A Florida State League where he hit .253/.313/.396 with 10 home runs and 14 stolen bases in 93 games before he was promoted to AA Altoona in the Eastern League. The Detroit Tigers acquired Jones in exchange for Joakim Soria, and the Tigers assigned Jones to their AA team in Erie. Overall in 2015, among the three teams, he hit a combined .257/.322/.415 with 16 home runs and 25 stolen bases. Detroit sent him to the Arizona Fall League to work on his defense at third base as they felt his time at shortstop was coming to a close. Jones struggled with his BB/K ratio at AFL, but he did hit .280/.333/.400 with 2 home runs and a stolen base over 54 plate appearances.

The Tigers started Jones at Erie and moved him quickly to their AAA affiliate Toledo in the International League, where he spent the majority of his 2016. Jones played most of his time in the minor leagues in 2016 in center field, but he also played 31 of his 99 games at third base as well. Overall in the minor leagues this year, he hit .257/.327/.407 with 7 home runs and 13 stolen bases along with 7 triples. The Tigers called him up to the major leagues on August 30th.

Next: Jones's scouting report

Home/Detroit Tigers