JaCoby Jones earned a spot on the Detroit Tigers’ roster as a bench player. He could now have a chance to secure a larger role.
Back in the summer of 2015, the Detroit Tigers acquired JaCoby Jones from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Joakim Soria. Jones made his big league debut for the Tigers the following year and saw a decent amount of playing time with the big league club in 2017.
While Jones was impressive on the base-paths and in the field during his first two years with the Tigers, he struggled at the plate. Over 182 plate appearances between 2016-17, Jones hit just .178/.236/.278 with three home runs.
After the Tigers signed Leonys Martin to play center field, Jones’ role was a bit uncertain heading into spring training. However, he showed that he belonged, hitting .354/.415/.542 with two home runs and eight RBI through 20 Grapefruit League games. He earned a spot on the team as an extra outfielder.
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However, Jones now has a chance to prove that he is capable of handling a larger role. Earlier this month, the Tigers sent left fielder Mikie Mahtook to Triple-A Toledo. While Mahtook had a nice season last year, he had a rough spring training and his struggles continued into the regular season. Per Evan Woodbery of MLive, at the time, manager Ron Gardenhire said that the left field duties would be shared by Jones and Victor Reyes. Gardenhire also said that super-utility man Niko Goodrum would get his opportunities.
So far, Jones has been performing quite well in the chances he has been given. He had a particularly big day in the Tigers’ double-header against the Kansas City Royals on Friday afternoon. In the first game, he went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a walk-off home run. Although the Tigers lost the second game, Jones was impressive at the plate yet again, going 1-for-2 with a triple and a sacrifice fly.
Through 14 games this season, Jones is now hitting a rock solid .313/.395/.500. He is performing like someone who wants to win a starting job.
Jones’ track record in the minor leagues also suggests that he should have quite a bit of power potential. Back in 2014, when he was still a member of the Pirates organization, Jones hit 23 home runs in Single A West Virginia.
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Only time will tell if Jones will be able to continue swinging his bat the way he has thus far and lock down the left field job. However, it would certainly be a nice story for the Tigers if Jones can indeed have a breakout year in 2018.