Wednesday, January 21, 2015

DrB's 2015 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #28 Ryder Jones

Ryder Jones, 3B.  DOB:  6/7/1994.  B-L, T-R.  6'3", 185 lbs.

2013  AZL:  .317/.394/.400, 1 HR, 8.5 BB%, 23.0 K%, 165 PA.
2014  Low A:  .220/.272/.339, 7 HR, 6 SB, 4.5 BB%, 23.3 K%, 399 PA.
2014  Short Season:  .243/.293/.393, 3 HR, 1 SB, 6.0 BB%, 17.9 K%, 117 PA.

The Giants drafted Ryder Jones in round 2 of the 2013 draft.  They got him signed away from a Stanford commitment and he got off to a strong start to his pro career that summer in Arizona.  The Giants apparently thought enough of his defense and athleticism to try him at SS in Augusta to start the 2014 season.  He got off to a strong start in Augusta, particularly in the month on May when he put up a split of .272/.299/.511 with 5 of the 7 HR's he hit there.  He slumped badly in June and July due to fatigue from the daily grind of pro ball.  He was transferred to Salem-Keizer and put back at 3B there.  He started off slowly in S-K, but rebounded for a pretty good August with a .267/.302/.433 slash line.  I really like his size and the power potential he shows.  He obviously needs to figure out how to not wear down in the long pro season, and he needs to make better and more consistent contact.  Logical place for him to start 2015 would be back in Augusta, but I wouldn't be shocked to see him assigned to San Jose.

7 comments:

  1. Interesting to see Jones this far on your list behind Arroyo. Seems like Jones showed the ability to do some damage in A ball (at least for a run until fatigue?) whereas Arroyo never seemed to get it together at Augusta.

    Is there really that much difference in their ceiling and respective floors?

    Does Carter Jurica figure on this list anywhere? I thought it pretty amazing but not surprising that the Giants picked him in the 3rd round in 2010, and one pick later, the Cardinals drafted Sam Tuivailala out of San Mateo H.S. It figures, that's the nature of scouting and drafting. Sometimes you miss the ones right under your nose. Here's to better Nor. Cal scouting in the future and to finding big arms and to not being so obsessed with these middle infielders.

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    1. Augusta was a small sample size for Arroyo and he crushed it at S-K. Arroyo is far better at making contact than Jones. Jones does have more power potential, but he also has significantly greater bust potential than Arroyo.

      Carter Jurica is no longer in the Giants organization.

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    2. Ryan, you mean like the Twins signing undrafted Brandon Poulson, who went to Academy of Art in SF and throws 100 mph? I'm considering going to some USF games this upcoming season, if I still live in SF. Watch Manny Ramirez Jr. play. But, I get really turned off by how everybody talks him up as a "great guy, leader, and high character type." When I've seen him post stuff on twitter like, "I need a girlfriend to do my laundry and wash my dishes." Ick.

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    3. The Giants have actually drafted a lot of local guys over the years and they certainly have drafted a whole lot of big arms from all over the country, so I'm not sure what the gripe is here.

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    4. The Giants were actually in on Brandon Paulson, but weren't able to get him to sign - http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/11283213/minnesota-twins-add-brandon-poulson-undrafted-24-year-old-pitches-100-mph.

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  2. I wonder if Ryan knows that the Cardinals drafted Tuivailala as an outfielder, not a "big arm," and tried him out in pro ball as a middle infielder. Besides, complaining that the Giants don't draft enough pitchers. Wow!

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  3. Ryder Jones REALLY got my attention with his intro to pro baseball. Dang! He can catch fire and go on a tear, we've seen short stretches of hotness that are just incredible. These middle infielders: Ryder Jones, Arroyo, and Sy (even including Bednar and maybe some others?) are quite an interesting group to follow. Just don't know. In my mind, they pretty much epitomize the concept of "anything can happen." Cheers.

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