Yankees rookie Spencer Jones hopes to take a page from Aaron Judge’s book.
And why not? Judge has won three MVP awards and is among the best hitters in the game.
In December, Jones visited with Judge’s hitting coach Richard Schenck during a trip to Missouri, per The Athletic.
Schenck, 71, is a private baseball swing instructor famous for developing the High Level Pattern (HLP) hitting system and working with major leaguers like Judge.
Jones previously worked with his own hitting coaches, Will Haynie and Justin Wilson.
“They knew what they were doing,” Jones told The Athletic, “But we’re learning everything via the Internet. Then this offseason, we actually went out and saw Rich in Missouri. That helped a lot. Being in communication with Judge, too, helps us speak the same language as hitters. That’s what it’s all about.”
Like Judge, Jones is 6-foot-7. And like Judge, he struggled with strikeouts early in his career.
He struck out 200 times in 124 games at Double-A Somerset in 2024.
Still, because of his size and athleticism, Jones is a rookie being heralded as a potential future star. He’s currently batting .218 with five homers and 18 RBI with a .715 OPS.
He went 2 for 5 with two doubles and three RBI in Wednesday’s win against the Mariners.
Jones tweaked his batting stance during spring training and his toe-tap with the right foot prior to swinging now mirrors that of Shohei Ohtani.
“They’re both getting their foot down early so they can see the baseball a long time,” former Yankees manager Joe Girardi said on the YES Network earlier this year of the comparison.
Still, Jones told The Athletic that the key is his back (left) leg.
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“For me, I was really out of sync and not on time a lot in past seasons,” Jones said. “Part of that had to do with my leg and not being where it needed to be. I think the training I’ve been doing is focused more on the back leg alone. That’s what needs to be on time and in sync with the pitcher.”
With Trent Grisham a free agent after his season, Jones could be the answer in center field in the future.
For now, he’s playing a key role while Judge, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton are all injured.
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