How Yankees’ Aaron Judge treats younger players is ‘coolest thing ever,’ says top prospect

At 6-foot-7, 235 pounds, Spencer Jones often draws comparisons to Aaron Judge — and he got to work closely with the former MVP in spring training.

But the outfield prospect wasn’t only in awe over how far Judge can hit a baseball, but how he treated him and the younger players. Jones told Brendan Kuty of The Athletic that it was “the coolest thing ever” in a story published April 2.

SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE YANKEES NEWSLETTER:

RESTORING THE GLORY

“He doesn’t care who you are, what you know or what your role in the organization is,” Jones said, via Kuty. “He’s always going to come up and say hi. That was evident on the minor-league side even before camp started and guys were running around. He’s out there running drills with us, talking with us, just like we’re his teammates. That means a lot to a lot of the younger guys, just getting that sense of comfort and having somebody like that to lead the team is obviously ahead of a lot of other places. It’s pretty special.”

Jones, 22, hit .444 with a home run and four RBI in 13 Grapefruit League games this spring. He is the Yankees’ No. 2 overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.

He began the 2023 season with High-A Hudson Valley and was eventually promoted to Double-A Somerset. In 117 games for the Renegades and Patriots, Jones hit 267/.336/.444 with 16 homers and 66 RBI.

Jones will begin this season with Double-A Somerset.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.

Bridget Hyland may be reached at bhyland@njadvancemedia.com.