Via a print version of Baseball America last month -
The Twins moved to bolster their bullpen options by taking Yankees righthander Jason Jones with the 21st pick in the major league Rule 5 draft.
The 26-year-old spent most of the 2008 season at Double-A Trenton, going 13-7, 3.33 in 25 starts.
Jones likely will be used as a long reliever, and the Twins will continue to eye trade targets as well as the free agent market for late-inning relievers. Though Jones, a 2004 fourth-round pick from Liberty, stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 225 pounds, he is not a hard thrower. Instead he relies on pitch efficiency and keeping the ball on the ground.
“He’s got a lot of pitchability and strike-ability,” vice president of player personnel Mike Radcliff said. “He’s always been in a starting role. The key will be if he’s able to apply his pitches and tools to being a reliever.”
But can Jones transition from a starting role to the bullpen? He has worked mostly as a starter in the minors and last season he tossed 160 innings, striking out 102 and walking 50, between Double-A and Triple-A.
It was a confidence-boosting season for Jones, who throws everything at opposing batters, including a low-90s four-seam fastball, a split-finger, a sinker, a slider and a curveball.
“Having confidence this year has been the biggest difference for me in my pitches and my mechanics,” he said.
The Twins have to keep Jones on the 25-man roster all season or place him on waivers and offer him back to New York for half of the original $50,000 fee. The Twins also could shape a deal that would allow them to maintain Jones’ rights while sending him to the minor leagues in 2009.
“He gives you a little insurance, if he can perform and make the team,” director of pro scouting Vern Fallowell said. “If everything stays as is, then he would probably need to vie for the bullpen to stay with the club.”
You know, it’s very hard to find any source that says Jason Jones is a desirable pitching prospect. He’s not a kid and his fastball is a tad short. However, he’s got good control and has seemed to turn the corner a bit after picking up a split-finger fastball.
Yet, I dunno…I keep getting this vibe that the Twins picked the Yankees pocket with this one…
Could it be “ESP”? Well, actually…yeah, but not Extra-Sensory Perception…
…it’s probably more like Erratic Sleep Patterns catching up with me…leading to this feeling. I clearly need to start getting more sleep.
Let’s see if I still feel the same way about Jones after that happens.
7 Responses to “Strange Jason Jones Vibe”
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January 14th, 2009 at 11:33 pm
Yet, I dunno…I keep getting this vibe that the Twins picked the Yankees pocket with this one…
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Even so, Jones was pretty far down on the depth chart.
Yanks lost quite a few arms this offseason.
January 14th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
~~Jones was pretty far down on the depth chart.~~
Actually, he may have never been on it. That’s how little prospect status he had…
January 15th, 2009 at 7:58 am
“Actually, he may have never been on it. That’s how little prospect status he had…”
and FWIW, in order to keep these rule 5 picks in the major leagues all year, which is what the Twins basically now have to do to keep him, a lot of teams who take starting pitchers move them to the pen for a year if they dont think they’re ready to pitch out of the starting rotation.
now, dont get me wrong, i am not making a comparison here… but i believe that is what the Twins did with Johan, too.
he was a starting pitcher in the Houston organization who they took in the rule 5 and threw him in the bullpen, if i have that right.
January 15th, 2009 at 8:07 am
I don’t know. I get the impression that you just really like these underdog prospects, the guys who don’t have a lot of stuff but get by on guile and guts. Which is fine. But it does have a tendency to lead to you worrying that the Yankees are missing out on Jason Jones, while at other times complaining that they haven’t traded Phil Hughes.
And, hey, top prospects do tend to be overvalued. But stuff does matter. It wouldn’t surprise me if Jones could carve out a decent little career as a back-end starter or long-man. But the failure rate for the Jones types is far higher than the failure rate for the Hughes types, which means that it’s really, really high (as I’m sure you know). And even if Jones does fulfill his potential, and the Yankees have lost out on a long-man, it’s not that big a deal, is it?
January 15th, 2009 at 9:41 am
~~while at other times complaining that they haven’t traded Phil Hughes.~~
When have I EVER complained about that?
I MAY have suggested that they consider it, in the right deal, etc. But, have I ever said that they MUST trade him and then bitched that it hasn’t happened yet?
Show me where I did that.
Man, I just “love” it when you guys like to say that I said things that I never said…
January 15th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Man, I just “love” it when you guys like to say that I said things that I never said…
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You’re taking me a little too literally. My point was just that you tend to undervalue top prospects (maybe not Joba, because how could anyone not love Joba?) while overvaluing guys like Jason Jones. I don’t think that’s a particularly outrageous claim. Nor is it a particularly big deal. Most fans overvalue all their team’s prospects. I know I tend to.
It was really just meant to be an observation that Jones fits the mold of guys you like. You have an affinity for underdogs. Don’t we all?
I like this blog. I wasn’t trying to accuse you of anything or play gotchya. You’ve flatly stated on at least one occasion that you dislike Hughes(though I’m sure you would be perfectly happy if he became a good pitcher). So I don’t particularly get the impression that you would be heartbroken if he were traded away. But if you would, in fact, be heartbroken, then I apologize for making that leap. Though, really, it wasn’t meant to be a leap and was just a case of me using imprecise language in what I assumed was a casual conversation.
In any event, I’m happy for Jones, because he wasn’t ever going to get a chance with the Yankees, and now he’s on a major league squad. So good for him, and I hope he does well.
January 15th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
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