Angels' Jahmai Jones flying high at plate

[Chuck]

 

By Sam Dykstra / MiLB.com | August 18, 2017 10:00 AM

Like every professional team he's played on, Jahmai Jones has been batting leadoff for the entire Angels farm system for a few years now. A center fielder, Jones was taken in the second round (70th overall) of the 2015 Draft and showed signs of being the toolsiest prospect in a rather barren system. Not since Andrew Heaney graduated in 2015 and fellow left-hander Sean Newcomb was traded to the Braves the following offseason have the Halos had a prospect ranked among the top 100 in the game by MLB.com. But the system Jones entered two years ago isn't the same one it is now. There are no top-100 prospects, but plenty are ready to bang on the door, particularly those who play outfield.

This year's 10th overall pick, Jordon Adell has already moved up to Rookie-level Orem after showing plenty of power and speed in the Arizona League. Third-rounder Jacob Pearson has above-average hit and run tools. Brandon Marsh, a 2016 second-rounder, is finally healthy and showing an impressive bat (.372 average in 20 games) to go with his plus arm and defensive capabilities.

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[Angel Dog and Beer]

"Dating back to his time with Class A Burlington, Jones has hit safely in 33 of his last 34 games, a stretch in which he's batted .342/.390/.509 with 12 extra-base hits and eight steals"

I'm liking those stats! Keep up the good work JJ.

[Second Base]

I'm still torn on Jones or Adell at #1.  At first it was an easy call, Adell.  And Adell has done nothing but back that argument up.  The power, speed and general hitting ability he showed in his first taste of pro ball would impress anyone.  He's done all I thought he would and more.  He's a physical specimen that only comes but once every few years in the draft.  He's already big and strong at 18, imagine what he'll be like at 24!  

On the other hand, Jones is impressive. The thing I think I like most about Jones, other than his mental and emotional stability (a trait 90% of professional ball players all share), is his quiet swing.  Jones isn't moving all over the place, he doesn't require a huge load or a thousand ticks outside of the batters box between pitches.  He's quiet, calm, simple.  And drives the ball.  

He's closer than we think. 

[GrittyVeterans]

I think Jones is a better prospect than Adell at this moment personally. The kid does everything well, the only facet that he's average in is taking walks but we'll see how that develops

[UndertheHalo]

Really enjoyed this read.  Finally someone not working for Angels fan blog or site has something good to say about our guys.  They may be 3 years out but I'm looking forward to following them work through the system. 

Really lucky I think that we came up with Jones after the Ward disaster in the 1st round.  

[Angel Oracle]

That swing on his first I.E. HR was pretty compact.   I likey!

[DMVol]

Where does he start next year?  AA?

[Angel Oracle]

They could have him repeat A* for the first month or so, and if destroying pitching move up to AA.   Then if he had a strong AA showing through early September 2018, they could give him the Carney Lansford treatment (skipping AAA) to start 2019 if he has a great ST showing in 2019.

If Hermosillo is already in the majors in 2018 and doing well, they can then trade Calhoun late in ST 2019.

[wopphil]

Still a decent sample size of games left to play. If he hits as well the next few weeks as he has thus far in A+, he probably should go directly to AA.

[Angelsjunky]

@Scotty@AW, I think to some degree it is a classic case of floor vs. ceiling. In my view, Adell's ceiling is higher, but his floor is lower. If we throw Marsh into the mix, Marsh has a similar ceiling as Jones, but a lower floor.

My favorite thing about Jones is that he seems to be at least above average at everything, which will make his overall performance more than the sum of its parts, and a bit under the radar. He's going to be the type of player that is deceptively good - he's going to hit .290+, with 20ish HR, a bunch of extra base hits, some walks, and 30+ SB. He's also going to be a very good defender. Actually, he reminds me a bit of Andrew McCutchen, which I see as his best-case scenario.

[Chuck]

1 hour ago, Angelsjunky said:

@Scotty@AW, I think to some degree it is a classic case of floor vs. ceiling. In my view, Adell's ceiling is higher, but his floor is lower. If we throw Marsh into the mix, Marsh has a similar ceiling as Jones, but a lower floor.

My favorite thing about Jones is that he seems to be at least above average at everything, which will make his overall performance more than the sum of its parts, and a bit under the radar. He's going to be the type of player that is deceptively good - he's going to hit .290+, with 20ish HR, a bunch of extra base hits, some walks, and 30+ SB. He's also going to be a very good defender. Actually, he reminds me a bit of Andrew McCutchen, which I see as his best-case scenario.

Very good comparison, @Angelsjunky.

McCutchen in High-A in 2005: .291/.356/.446 with 14 HR, 22 SB in 114 games.

Jones despite a having very bad start to the season has slashed .289/.351/.446 with 12 HR and 26 SB and still has a couple weeks of games to go. Also, Jones has played the exact amount of games, 114. Crazy! 

[Second Base]

3 hours ago, Angelsjunky said:

@Scotty@AW, I think to some degree it is a classic case of floor vs. ceiling. In my view, Adell's ceiling is higher, but his floor is lower. If we throw Marsh into the mix, Marsh has a similar ceiling as Jones, but a lower floor.

My favorite thing about Jones is that he seems to be at least above average at everything, which will make his overall performance more than the sum of its parts, and a bit under the radar. He's going to be the type of player that is deceptively good - he's going to hit .290+, with 20ish HR, a bunch of extra base hits, some walks, and 30+ SB. He's also going to be a very good defender. Actually, he reminds me a bit of Andrew McCutchen, which I see as his best-case scenario.

If Jones is Cutch, then he's a superstar, and if he's a superstar, then he should rank a freakin' heck of a lot higher than 80 or 90.  

If I had the time I'd probably pay more attention to other systems and give you a more accurate number, but at first look, when Im reading MLB.com's Top 100 or even minorleagueball's top 100, Jones seems like he could easily be in the top 50 with all the justification you need. 

[disarcina]

bring him up to Anaheim for September and let him pinch run in the late innings.

of course, Angels probably won't want to do that -- it would get his clock started on 'club control' issues/ time.

[Chuck]

Jones has now a 24-game hitting streak after going 3-4 tonight. He also stole his 27th base. 

He's just crazy hot right now, hitting nearly .400 for the month of August. 

[GrittyVeterans]

On 8/19/2017 at 0:53 PM, Chuckster70 said:

Very good comparison, @Angelsjunky.

McCutchen in High-A in 2005: .291/.356/.446 with 14 HR, 22 SB in 114 games.

Jones despite a having very bad start to the season has slashed .289/.351/.446 with 12 HR and 26 SB and still has a couple weeks of games to go. Also, Jones has played the exact amount of games, 114. Crazy! 

And they're both black!

[Chuck]

Just now, GrittyVeterans said:

And they're both black!

Well technically Jones is half Asian, half black. 

[GrittyVeterans]

1 minute ago, Chuckster70 said:

Well technically Jones is half Asian, half black. 

Damn I was really hoping he would be a total mirror image of McCutchen

[Chuck]

Just now, GrittyVeterans said:

Damn I was really hoping he would be a total mirror image of McCutchen

Who's to say he won't be better 

[tdawg87]

Batting .362 now.

*heavy breathing*

[Chuck]

7 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

Batting .362 now.

*heavy breathing*

Dang.... 4 hits on the night. 

[ksangel]

So those of you who follow Jahmai Jones carefully why is his BB to K rate at 1 to 2.32?  Is that acceptable?  It is similar to McCutcheon's ratio in A+ but he lowered that ratio in majors somehow.

Is Jones having trouble with off speed pitches/curves/ sliders?

Another recent Angels "can't miss" prospect had a BB to K ratio at A+ and then AA and AAA of 1 to 3 ratio and washed out quickly at the major league level because pitchers took advantage of the holes in his swing.  We all know who that was....

Kole Calhoun had a 1 to 1.32 BB to K ratio at A+ as a comparison.

Is his BB to K rate acceptable or should he stay at in the lower minors until he improves his BB to K ratio?

Hate to see such a promising prospect be pushed up too quickly if more time in the minors would help him achieve greater success in the majors.

[DMVol]

On 8/19/2017 at 5:51 PM, disarcina said:

.....bring him up to Anaheim for September and let him pinch run in the late innings.....

I would think you might want EYJr for that role....

[eaterfan]

1 hour ago, ksangel said:

So those of you who follow Jahmai Jones carefully why is his BB to K rate at 1 to 2.32?  Is that acceptable?  It is similar to McCutcheon's ratio in A+ but he lowered that ratio in majors somehow.

Is Jones having trouble with off speed pitches/curves/ sliders?

Another recent Angels "can't miss" prospect had a BB to K ratio at A+ and then AA and AAA of 1 to 3 ratio and washed out quickly at the major league level because pitchers took advantage of the holes in his swing.  We all know who that was....

Kole Calhoun had a 1 to 1.32 BB to K ratio at A+ as a comparison.

Is his BB to K rate acceptable or should he stay at in the lower minors until he improves his BB to K ratio?

Hate to see such a promising prospect be pushed up too quickly if more time in the minors would help him achieve greater success in the majors.

This is my thought process too. I wouldn't mind him starting next season in A+ again. 

That AVG will go down as defenders get better, field conditions get better, and pitching gets better at higher levels. 

There are guys like Cutch who develope that discipline later and become super stars. There are guys who don't develope it but hit well enough and make enough contact to be solid players anyway, like Howie Kendrick. And there are guys who can't do either like Brandon Wood. 

I'd like to see Jones moving toward the McCutchen model before promoting him or at least make him hit like this for longer to show he's a Kendrick type.

[floplag]

I'll admit it, im jaded.  Too many Wood/MacPhearson in our recent past for me to get hyped till i see it done in Ana.  
BUT... i like what i hear, only wish this was something more promising than 2019

[Angel Oracle]

Unlike Wood and D-Mac though, Jones can use his athleticism to wreak havoc on the bases and in the field.

The CS% is a bit high (31.8%).   But he is just age 19/20.

But yeah, that BBs/Ks ratio needs to improve in time.

Both he and Hermosillo have some work to do with BBs/Ks.