Yankees prospect Spencer Jones is starting in Double-A Somerset, and he has some new lumber to boot.
The No. 3 prospect in the Yankees ‘ prospect pool, per MLB.com, told reporters on Tuesday that he would be using a torpedo bat when the minor league season gets underway later this week.
The outfielder joins his big league brethren by using a bat that has made headlines since the Bronx Bombers lived up to the nickname over the weekend, hitting nine home runs during a blowout win over the Brewers on Saturday and a total of 15 over the weekend.
The 6-foot-7 Jones had said he received one during spring training and that he was “pretty excited” to have it.
“They showed me where my barrel was was like 20th percentile of barrel size of bats. It’s like, why am I using a bat with a tiny barrel when I could maximize it?” Jones said. “It’s like it’s obvious for me to use a bigger barrel.”
Jones added that he’s been using it for “about a week” and he seemed to suggest that he noticed a difference in his hitting since he’s started using the torpedo bat.
“A little bit. There’s some balls I feel like I got jammed and it was a lot of barrel. I mean that’s a good feeling. The ones where it doesn’t hurt the hands as much. It’s actually off the barrel and flying,” Jones said.
Jones made the jump to the Double-A during the second half of the 2023 season and spent all of the 2024 baseball season with Somerset, slashing .259/.336/.452 along with 17 home runs and 78 RBIs.
Jones had spent the offseason working on adjusting his swing and batting stance, which he said the goal is to “make more contact, see better pitches, make better decisions and hit the ball in the air a little bit [more].”
