GARRETT JONES

6/21/81; '99 14th (Atlanta); Tinley Park, IL (HS)
L/L; 6-4, 205

Level
BA
OBP
SA
AB
2B
3B
HR
BB
K
SB
CS
1999 R (Atl)
.241
.309
.312
170
3
0
3
16
47
1
2
2000 R+ (Atl)
.174
.242
.254
138
7
2
0
13
55
0
3
2001 R+ (Atl)
.289
.333
.423
149
11
0
3
9
58
0
1
2002 A (Minn)
.202
.238
.372
223
8
0
10
11
82
3
1
2003 A+ (Minn)
.220
.280
.408
404
12
5
18
32
98
5
4
2004 AA (Minn)
.311
.356
.593
450
33
2
30
28
98
10
4
2004 A+ (Minn)
.242
.286
.364
66
5
0
1
4
19
2
0
2005 AAA (Minn)
.244
.297
.445
488
22
2
24
36
109
5
1
2006 AAA (Minn)
.238
.302
.430
525
32
3
21
49
121
3
4
2007 AL (Minn)
.208
.262
.338
77
2
1
2
6
20
1
1
2007 AAA (Minn)
.280
.334
.473
400
32
3
13
32
83
2
2
2008 AAA (Minn)
.279
.337
.484
527
33
3
23
50
98
9
2
2009 NL
.293
.372
.567
314
21
1
21
40
76
10
2
2009 AAA
.307
.348
.502
288
18
0
12
18
47
14
4

Jones was originally drafted by Atlanta, but didn't hit and was released after three years.  He signed with the Twins and struggled for over two years before he suddenly broke out with a huge power season in AA.  He wasn't able to repeat his success in AAA, however, and took three years to adapt to the level.  He obviously had problems with the strike zone throughout his career, although he finally showed some improvement in 2008.  He played part of the time in the outfield early in his career, but has been primarily a firstbaseman in recent years.  The Twins outrighted him to AAA after he got a cup of coffee with them in 2007.  He became a minor league free agent after the 2008 season and the Pirates signed him to a minor league deal.  He hit very well in spring training, but had no real chance to make the team due to the Pirates being overloaded with LH-hitting corner players.  He was expected to play mostly in the outfield at Indianapolis because Steve Pearce was moving back to first.

The Pirates said repeatedly that they were impressed with Jones and he responded with a good first half at Indianapolis.  His opportunity came when they traded Eric Hinske and he became an immediate sensation.  He hit ten HRs in his first nineteen games and ultimately led all major league rookies, and the Pirates, in HRs.  He also led all rookies who had more than 115 ABs in slugging and OPS.  Jones' performance naturally ignited a debate among fans about whether he was for real.  It's hard to believe he can keep hitting like he did for the Pirates considering his age and the fact that he spent over four years in AAA, not slugging .500 there until his fifth year, and then just barely.  Part of the discussion among fans revolved around attempts to compare Jones to other hitters who got established in the majors at late ages and remained productive hitters for at least a few years.  All of the players meeting this description of whom I'm aware, though—such as Mike Easler and Brian Daubach—were much better hitters than Jones in the minors and took much less time to adapt to AAA.  On the other hand, Jones never really went into a slump.  Although he increasingly seemed vulnerable to breaking balls down an in, his worst month was August, when he hit 274/358/509.  He actually had a better BB/K ratio than he ever had in the minors, which is probably a good sign.  At worse, there's no reason to think Jones can't be a useful major league player over the long term, possibly even a regular.  It just seems unlikely that he'll continue to hit quite as well as he did as a rookie.

Regardless of how they feel about his long-term potential, the Pirates will count on Jones as a regular in 2010.  They just don't know what position.  They'd prefer first, as he's really out of place in right.  He runs well, especially for a big guy, as his base stealing numbers show.  He's awkward, though, and doesn't do well trying to catch balls on the run or cut off balls in the gap or in the corner.  His arm is good.  He seems pretty good at first and has the advantage of being tall.  Where he ends up, though, will depend more on how the team fills its corner needs.  At some point the Pirates may need to consider platooning Jones, or at least sitting him now and then against LHPs.  He hits for good power against LHPs, but struggles to hit them overall.  He hit 208/243/455 against them and 333/426/620 against RHPs.  That's very consistent with how he did in the minors, so it's not likely to change much.  Unfortunately, John Russell hasn't shown much skill so far at getting the platoon advantage.  One other factor with Jones' rookie performance is worth mentioning:  he struggled mightily with RISP, batting 152/306/242.  That accounts for him getting only 44 RBIs despite his impressive power numbers.  Odds are it's just an aberration, as he hit slightly better with RISP than overall in the minors.

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