If the New York Yankees want to make improvements during the trade deadline, they’ll likely have to move on from some of their top prospects. The Yankees’ farm system isn’t what it once was, and many consider it one of the more average systems in Major League Baseball.

However, if the Yankees can sell other teams high on some of their top prospect, there could be a scenario where they end up with a decent player. Among them could be Spencer Jones, who many once viewed as an untouchable in the Yankees system. However, after Jones had a brutal showing during the 2024 campaign, striking out 200 times in Double-A, it’d be in the Yankees’ best interest to move on from him sometime in the near future.

Aaron Judge Comparisons

In a recent prediction from Stephen Parello of YanksGoYard, they’d do just that. It was noted that Jones has fallen out of most top 100 Prospect lists, and while he might be a similar type of athlete to Aaron Judge, his production simply hasn’t been there.

“The bottom line is that Jones, who has fallen out of most top-100 prospect lists, may be a similarly freakish physical specimen to Judge, but he’s nowhere near the polished prospect that Judge was at his age,” Parello wrote.

“That said, as Judge annihilates baseballs, other teams will fantasize about finding their own version, giving the Yankees a pathway to capitalize and flip the talented-but-extremely-risky Jones to headline a package for an impact major league talent before the rest of the league catches on to Jones’ shortcomings.”

Pushing the Chips in

During the 2023-24 offseason, the New York Yankees were expected to make a few big moves. They did with Juan Soto, but there was an expectation around the league for them to do more.

Instead, the Yankees held on to Jones, and that hasn’t looked to be the right decision. There have been times throughout his professional career when he looks to be an above-average player, hitting 17 home runs last year. Still, it’s impossible to ignore a player who has struck out over 155 times in the past two seasons at the minors.

At one point, there were no talks about moving on from Jones.

“That feeling permeates the organization, from the clubhouse to the owner’s suite. The 6-foot-6 Jones is an unusual blend of power, size and speed the team envisions clubbing home runs over the short porch at Yankee Stadium and stealing bases deep into October,” Castillo wrote. “The Yankees firmly believe the 22-year-old is a future star. It’s why he is still in the organization.

“The Yankees could have made Jones the centerpiece in a major trade in recent months — even just this week — to improve a roster in win-now mode for the 2024 season. But team brass is so convinced of Jones’ talents that he has been deemed virtually untouchable.”

Jones’ strikeout issues haven’t been much better during the 2025 campaign in Double-A.

The New York Yankees have to be concerned about that, as the left-handed hitting outfielder has struck out 41 times in just 92 at-bats. It’s a brutal showing from him again on that front, but he also has a .926 OPS.

If the strikeout numbers are there, but he hits home runs the way he has in Double-A, there could be a reason other teams take a chance on him.