Prized Diamondbacks prospect Druw Jones receives concerning major-league outlook
06/16/2024 05:54 PM
Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Druw Jones is receiving some troubling news. Major league scouts are questioning whether Jones has the correct swing to make it as a Major League Baseball hitter, per USA Today. Jones was selected as the second overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft.
It is certainly surprising to hear that, considering Jones has been playing baseball for a very long time. Druw is the son of former Atlanta Braves star Andruw Jones. Druw did undergo surgery in 2022 to repair cartilage in his shoulder, but he has since recovered. He is hitting consistently in the minor leagues this season. Druw Jones is playing for the single-A affiliate of the Diamondbacks, the Visalia Rawhide.
This season, Druw is hitting .279 with four home runs and 31 runs batted in. He has played in 51 games this year, and collected 179 at-bats. In the last month, Druw is actually heating up. He has hit .333 in the last seven days, with two home runs in just the last week, per Baseball Reference. Scouts must surely see that he has talent, so it is baffling as to why they are doubting him. It isn’t as if he just picked up a baseball bat yesterday. It is plausible that his prior injury is part of the reason why there is fear about his hitting technique.
The important thing is that the Diamondbacks believe in him. They showed their initial commitment when they picked him up so early in the draft. Druw was the 2022 Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year in baseball. He committed to Vanderbilt, but decided to forego college and start playing minor league baseball.
It will be interesting to see how these critiques affect the Diamondbacks’ approach to mentoring Druw. He has been playing for their single-A club since the beginning of the 2024 season. Time will tell how the Diamondbacks choose to use Druw going forward in their farm system.
Diamondbacks in 2024
Arizona is trying to get back to the World Series this season, after their stellar 2023 campaign. The team won the National League pennant last season and advanced to the championship series, only to lose to the Texas Rangers in five games. This year, Arizona has a disappointing 34-37 record. Things don’t seem so sunny in the desert, as the club is 8.5 games behind the powerful L.A. Dodgers in the NL West division.
The club is having a tough time finding wins this year. In the team’s last 10 games, Arizona has only come up with five victories. The franchise is also facing some difficult news about another prospect, as triple-A infielder Jordan Lawlar needs an MRI. Lawlar left a game Saturday for triple-A Reno with a hamstring injury, per AZ Central. The Diamondbacks are certainly not getting good news about their top farm prospects right now.
The Diamondbacks are in action at time of writing against the Chicago White Sox.
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