Yankees Have an Ideal Lineup Spot for Spencer Jones

When the New York Yankees were down 4-1 against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night, it felt like an insurmountable hole. They had come back the night before, but it was just a one-run deficit. With the way this offense has been scoring, three runs felt like 10, but one move before the game ended up making the biggest difference in one of their biggest comeback wins of the year.

That was Aaron Boone putting the rookie and top prospect, Spencer Jones, up in the three hole. Jones had two of the game's most back-breaking hits, and it probably wouldn't have happened if he were hitting anywhere else.

With two outs in the third, and runners on first and second, Jones found himself in a 3-2 count with Bryce Miller. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, in what felt like it was shades of his captain, Aaron Judge, Jones sent a double the other way. It flew off of his bat at 102.2 MPH, allowing both Austin Wells and Ben Rice to score.

The definition of a professional AB here from Spencer Jones. pic.twitter.com/aPpkJeW25Q
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) August 13, 2026

Jones provided yet another two-out spark against Miller a few innings later. Jones pulled a double on the first pitch of the at-bat this time, allowing Rice to score again. This one tied the game up, and the Yankees didn't look back from there. They would go on to score five unanswered runs.

SPENCER JONES GAME-TYING DOUBLE! pic.twitter.com/1oI3oRjnah
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 13, 2026

The case for Jones at the top of the order

Were Jones hitting anywhere else, there's a chance any other slugger in his spot isn't doing the type of damage he did against the Mariners. Boone gets a ton of criticism, but we should praise him for deciding to shake the lineup and placing Jones at the top of the order, sandwiching him between Rice and Luis Garcia Jr., the two premier sluggers until Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Giancarlo Stanton return.

It was an especially gutsy move considering that in Jones' last 31 plate appearances, he had just two hits. They all came against the Atlanta Braves, and one of them was a triple against southpaw ace Chris Sale, who has been a lefty neutralizer all of his career. Jones finding success against Sale may have been the only bright spot the rookie has shown in his last three series heading into Wednesday night's game, but outside of that, he has had a ton of empty at-bats, so it would have been easy for Boone to continue hitting him at the bottom of the order.

One thing Jones has shown that Jasson Domínguez hasn't is a propensity to slug. Outside of Domínguez's initial stint in the big leagues in 2023 before he went down, his power has been dormant in the majors. Even though Jones can go long stretches making little contact, there's enough pop in his bat where he can be a game-wrecker at any moment. He showed that last Saturday against Sale and most recently against Miller.

New York Yankees right fielder Jasson Domínguez (24) reacts after striking out against the Toronto Blue Jays during the sixth inning at Rogers Centre. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While waiting on a rookie to homer and send a rocket down the line, clearing the bases, isn't a recipe for success over the course of a full season unless their name is Aaron Judge — something that proved successful for Joe Girardi in 2017.

These are different circumstances. The organization's biggest boppers are hurt, so Jones should get as many chances to hit as possible.

At this point, veterans like Jazz Chisholm Jr. have shown that they may not be reliable enough to hit that high while these guys are out. Jones, on the other hand, is an unproven commodity in this league. But until pitchers figure him out, hitting at the top of the lineup between guys who can get on base could help them put up crooked numbers in a pinch. He has gone on torrid streaks in the minor leagues, and if that happens here, by the time he slows down, Judge and Bellinger would have already arrived.

Nonetheless, it wouldn't hurt for Boone to keep Jones hitting third. Even the second spot wouldn't be bad. Just give Jones the chance to get as many at-bats as possible.

He has the type of special power where one swing of the bat can change the game. There will be whiffs in between, of course, but how many players in this league have a 57.7% hard-hit rate over 141 plate appearances?

This is a special kind of pop. The Yankees are probably happy they didn't deal him at the deadline for now.

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