Spencer Jones, a top outfield prospect for the New York Yankees, is refining his swing by modeling it after Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jones said he is looking to develop a consistent and repeatable swing while maintaining his power at the plate.
“He’s a great reference of a really good mover with a great swing,” Jones said about Ohtani. “He’s one of those guys that I look at with some of the stuff he does, and I try to apply it in whichever way I can.”
During his first Grapefruit League appearance this year, Jones hit a home run off Keider Montero from the Detroit Tigers in a game where the Yankees defeated the Tigers 20-3 at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Jones spent much of his offseason working on hand positioning and trigger movements in his swing, something he noted Ohtani has perfected. This effort has been noticed by Yankees captain Aaron Judge.
“The minute he puts that foot down with that little toe-tap, he’s ready to hit,” Judge said. “They might have gotten him with a lot of high heaters in the past, or even last season. I think that’s just going to help him.
“He doesn’t have a big leg kick and doesn’t have to worry about trying to get that down. I liked the results I saw in that first at-bat. That quickness, that readiness, it’s really going to be a game-changer for him.”
Ohtani recently won his fourth MVP award after batting .282/.392/.622 with 55 home runs, 102 RBIs and 20 stolen bases during the 2025 season as part of Los Angeles’ back-to-back World Series titles.
Jones has yet to make his major league debut but hit 35 home runs last season across Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He finished 2025 ranked as the Yankees’ No. 4 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone commented on Jones’ adjustments: “The homer, the swing he put on that ball looked like it was probably belt-high, top-of-the-zone, mid-90s pitch,” Boone said. “It was really a clean move at it, and obviously a no-doubter.”
Boone added about Jones’ efforts: “The way they move, he’s trying to have one complete move with it,” Boone said. “Obviously, the size is very similar. So hopefully he can copy that well.”
