SAN FRANCISCO — Nobody helped their stock in September more than Aramis Garcia, who took advantage of an opening and showed that he can have quality at-bats and handle a second position. That opening originally might have belonged to another player.
With Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval already done for the year, Ryder Jones would have been the beneficiary when Brandon Belt was finally shut down. But Jones was on the disabled list, too, after suffering one of the worst injuries of the season.
Jones crumpled in the batter’s box on September 9 after his left knee twisted awkwardly on a swing. He dislocated it, and would have surgery three days later to repair ligament damage. That limited Jones to just eight at-bats in 2018 and kept the Giants from further evaluating a player who still is just 24.
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What Went Right
Jones had a decent season in Triple-A, batting .274 with a .745 OPS, 11 homers, 22 doubles and four triples. At the big-league level, he had hits in three of those eight at-bats, two of which were impressive homers. In a cameo in July, he hit a go-ahead homer off Edwin Jackson in Oakland. In September, he hit a pinch-hit shot off the Brewers’ Joakim Soria.
The Giants had just four homers leave the yard at 111 mph or above. Mac Williamson had two and Jones had the other two -- again, in just eight at-bats. His homers had exit velocities of 111.7 and 112.1 mph, giving him two of the three hardest-hit homers of the season by a Giant.
What Went Wrong
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Those Triple-A numbers were actually kind of disappointing given that Jones was repeating the level and had better numbers across the board in 2017. His OPS was .969 in his first run through the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
The big-league sample size is extremely small, but while Jones homered twice, he struck out in five of his six other at-bats.
Contract Status
Jones hasn’t accrued much service time. He has two minor-league options remaining.
The Future
The best thing going for Jones right now is his age. He turned 24 during the season, so he remains younger than just about all of the rookies who broke through during the season.
Jones is capable of generating tremendous bat speed, and the Giants hope that something clicks next season and he consistently taps into his power. The knee had bothered him before and Jones was hopeful that the procedure clears this up once and for all. He is buried on the depth chart, though, with Evan Longoria and Pablo Sandoval at third and Belt, Posey and others — Garcia? Austin Slater? — capable of handling first. Jones has taken fly balls in the outfield before but that hasn’t stuck.
He’s kind of in limbo right now, but given his age and natural power, he’s a player the new front office should spend a lot of time evaluating.