James Jones (baseball)

James Steven Jones (born (1988-09-24)September 24, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher and outfielder for the Texas Rangers organization. He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the fourth round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft and made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with them in 2014.

James Jones
Texas Rangers
Outfielder
Born: (1988-09-24) September 24, 1988
Brooklyn, New York
Bats: Left Throws: Left
MLB debut
April 18, 2014, for the Seattle Mariners
MLB statistics
(through 2015 season)
Batting average.238
Home runs0
Runs batted in9
Stolen bases28
Teams
Jones playing for the Tacoma Rainiers, triple-A affiliates of the Mariners, in 2015

Early life

Jones attended the High School of Telecommunications in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, where he led them to a Brooklyn West Division Championship. He spent time as both a pitcher and a position player.[1]

In 2007, Jones began attending Long Island University where in his freshman season he played 50 games, including pitching in 12 of those games. For the season he hit .299 with 10 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 32 RBIs. He also had eight stolen bases.[1] He was primarily used as a pitcher and went 2−6 with a 7.25 ERA in 12 games, eight starts.

He started all 67 games in 2008, including 14 pitching appearances. Jones hit .309 with eight doubles, two triples, five home runs and 28 RBIs. His 41 runs and 19 stolen bases were team highs. He earned many honors including First Team All-Northeast Conference, he was named NEC Player of the Week on March 24, he was ranked 30th on Baseball America's Top 100 College Prospects List and was named top prospect in New York State by Perfect Game Crosschecker.[1]

Going into his junior year many felt Jones was better suited as a pitcher entering the draft.[2] His fastball was said to be up to 95 mph (153 km/h).[2] Jones continued to play as a pitcher and an outfielder throughout the rest of his junior season.[2] He was drafted by the Mariners at the end of the season as an outfielder rather than a pitcher.[3][2][4]

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

Jones began his professional career in 2009 with the Short-Season Everett AquaSox of the Northwest League. He played 33 games in right field, seven at first base, three at designated hitter and one in left field. Jones finished the season hitting .311 with 12 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 24 RBIs. In 2010, Baseball America listed Jones as the "Best Outfield Arm" in the Seattle Mariners organization.[5] To begin the 2010 season, Jones was assigned to the Class-A Clinton LumberKings. On the season, Jones batted .269 with 87 runs scored, 132 hits, 24 doubles, 10 triples, 12 home runs, 64 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases.

Jones was added to the 40-man roster on November 20, 2013.[6] He was called up to the Mariners on April 16, 2014 and had his MLB debut on April 18, 2014 against the Miami Marlins. In his first at bat he beat out a ground ball to the second baseman. Following the game he was optioned back to Triple-A Tacoma. On May 5, 2014 he was recalled to the Mariners. On May 6, 2014 he recorded his second MLB hit in the first inning against the Oakland Athletics.

On May 18, 2014, Jones joined Edgar Martínez as the only players in Mariners history to hit safely in each of their first ten MLB starts.[7] In the next game on May 20, 2014, he got a hit to set the team record for starts with a hit to begin a career. He registered a hit in each of his first 13 MLB starts.

Texas Rangers

After the 2015 season, the Mariners traded Jones, Tom Wilhelmsen, and a player to be named later (Patrick Kivlehan) to the Texas Rangers for Leonys Martín and Anthony Bass.[8] The Rangers did not tender him a contract for 2016, so he became a free agent on December 2, 2015. He was re-signed to a minor league deal on December 10.

Jones began the 2016 season with the Round Rock Express, before transitioning into a pitcher. In August, Jones made his first appearance as a pitcher for the Arizona League Rangers.[9] Jones missed the entire 2017 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2016.[10] In 2018, he played for the AZL Rangers, Down East Wood Ducks, Frisco RoughRiders, and the Round Rock Express, accumulating a 1–1 record with a 7.34 ERA over 30.2 innings.

Jones elected free agency on November 2, 2018.[11] He re-signed with the Rangers to a minor league deal on February 14, 2019.[10] Jones split the 2019 season between Frisco and the Nashville Sounds,.[12] going a combined 3–2 with a 3.52 ERA with 71 strikeouts over 64 innings. Jones was the Texas Rangers 2019 Minor League True Ranger Award winner.[13] He became a free agent following the 2019 season.[14] Jones re-signed with the Rangers on a minor league deal on January 9, 2020.

References
  1. "2009 Baseball Roster". Long Island University. liuathletics.com. 2009. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
  2. Aaron Fitt (February 10, 2009). "Long Island's Jones goes from baseball unknown to top major league prospect". ESPN.com. Baseball America. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  3. Ian Begly (June 10, 2009). "Seattle Mariners select Long Island University's James Jones in fourth round of MLB draft". New York Daily News. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  4. Larry Stone (June 11, 2009). "Mariners ecstatic to draft pitcher turned outfielder". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on June 14, 2009. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  5. Matt Eddy (January 22, 2010). "Seattle Mariners: Top Ten Prospects". Baseball America. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
  6. Greg Johns (November 20, 2013). "Mariners add four to 40-man roster before deadline". MLB.com. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  7. Tracy Ringolsby (May 19, 2014). "High-energy Jones catching on fast in Seattle". MLB.com. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  8. "Rangers ship Leonys Martin to Mariners for RHP Tom Wilhelmsen in 5-player deal". The Dallas Morning News. November 16, 2015. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
  9. Gerry Fraley (August 3, 2016). "Rangers' top pitching prospect bumped up to Triple-A". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  10. Gerry Fraley (February 15, 2019). "Former outfielder James Jones to continue switch to mound with Rangers". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  11. Matt Eddy (November 6, 2018). "Minor League Free Agents 2018". Baseball America. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  12. Frisco RoughRiders (March 27, 2019). "Trio of star starters part of Riders initial roster". MiLB.com. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  13. John Blake (September 27, 2019). "Rangers announce 2019 Minor League Award winners". MLB.com. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  14. Matt Eddy (November 7, 2019). "Minor League Free Agents 2019". Baseball America. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
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