Brooklyn, N.Y. - Former Long Island University baseball player James Jones recently capped off his first season in the Seattle Mariners farm system, closing a strong campaign with the Class A Everett AquaSox. Jones, who was taken by Seattle in the fourth round (113th pick overall) of this year’s draft, batted .311 in 45 games for the AquaSox.
The young, five-tool outfielder got off to a torrid start, batting over .400 for the early portion of his season after signing in July. After his first trip around the league, with scouting reports beginning to circulate, Jones went into a slump but finished strong to close out his first professional year with a .311 batting average. He hit 12 doubles, a pair of triples and three home runs while driving in 24 runs and scoring 28 more.
Jones noticed a discernable difference between the pitching he saw in the short-season Northwest League and what he was used to in the Northeast Conference.
“Guys [in the Northwest League] threw harder,” Jones said. “Most had a good breaking pitch but they weren’t able to throw it consistently, but they just threw harder.”
Jones lit up the league pitching when he first got to Everett.
“I wasn’t thinking [at the plate],” he said. “That’s when I play my best, not having to worry about my swing. Then I started to have some 0-fers and I started to over-think and change things.”
Jones, the highest draft pick ever to come out of Long Island and the Northeast Conference, tinkered with his swing, getting away from his previous stride-free stance. It paid dividends with a hot streak to close out the season, including a 7-for-9 stretch over his last two games.
Long Island’s career stolen base leader went without a steal for the year, attempting only three. He cited pitchers’ quicker release times, stronger catchers’ arms and an overall situational approach to baserunning as reasons for staying anchored.
Aside from the faster pitchers and difficulty swiping bags, Jones also noticed a change in the fans. The AquaSox drew around 2,000 fans per game, significantly more than he was used to in college.
“Some of the fans were crazy,” he said. “In right field there was this foul ball guy. He’d do anything to get a foul ball; running after them and diving or slide-tackling other people to keep them away from it.”
Jones is the 35th player in Long Island history to be selected by a major league team. It marks the 40th time a Blackbird was drafted, as several players were drafted on more than one occasion. The last time a Long Island player was drafted was in 1999 when righthander Joe Curreri was taken by the Chicago White Sox in the 23rd round. The highest pick ever for a Blackbird came in 1986 when Richard Lacko was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the sixth round, 151st overall.