Adam Jones, OF, Seattle Mariners

June 20, 2007 @ 16:00:00

By Chris Hadorn
Edited by Ryan Dodson

Not to be confused with that “Pacman” character on the Tennessee Titans, Adam L. Jones is quietly enjoying a breakthrough 2007 season as a Seattle Mariners prospect. Jones is batting .325 with 17 home runs and 58 RBI with the Tacoma Rainiers of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. His home run and RBI totals both rank fourth in the circuit, his 89 hits place second and his .606 slugging percentage is third in the PCL. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Jones was drafted by Seattle with the 37th overall pick in the 2003 First-Year Player Draft out of Morse High School in San Diego. Jones was originally a highly regarded shortstop in the organization, but Seattle moved him to center field because of the big league presence of Yuniesky Betancourt. A tremendous athlete, Jones has handled the transition seamlessly as he was ranked as the best defensive outfielder by PCL managers last season, and his bat has developed at a position where there's a greater demand for offense.

Table: Adam L. Jones, OF, Seattle Mariners - Career Stats

Year	Club	Level	AB	H	AVG	HR	RBI	SB	BB	K	OBP	SLG
2003	Mariners	Rookie	109	31	.284	0	8	5	5	19	.368	.349
2003	Everett	SS-A	13	6	.462	0	4	0	1	3	.467	.538
2004	Wisconsin	Low-A	510	136	.267	11	72	8	33	124	.314	.404
2005	Inland Empire	High-A	271	80	.295	8	46	4	29	64	.374	.494
2005	San Antonio	AA	228	68	.298	7	20	9	22	48	.365	.461
2006	Tacoma	AAA	380	109	.287	16	62	12	28	78	.345	.484
2006	Seattle	MLB	74	16	.216	1	8	3	2	22	.237	.311
2007	Tacoma	AAA	274	89	.325	17	58	5	25	66	.396	.606

POSITIVES

What makes Jones' 2007 season all the more impressive is he's just 21 years old. For example, the right-handed hitting Jones currently ranks third in the Pacific Coast League with a 1.002 OPS. The other four players that place amongst the top five in OPS are all age 27 and older. Long-term, Jones has the ability to eventually develop into a .300 hitter at the big league level with 30/20 production in round-trippers and steals. Jones is arguably the finest upper-minors outfield prospect in baseball outside of Arizona's Justin Upton.

NEGATIVES 

For the time-being, there's not much of an opportunity for Jones at the big league level. Seattle's .284 team batting average ranks third in baseball, and their 338 runs scored is 10th. Pitching, not hitting, has been the Mariners' nemesis. Furthermore, Seattle is content with their current outfield of Raul Ibanez, Ichiro Suzuki and Jose Guillen. A trade or injury would need to transpire to make room. After Jones struggled in his first exposure to the big leagues last year, there is also the question of whether Jones would make an instant impact at Safeco. Despite possessing above-average speed, Jones is a better base runner than base stealer. He has been thrown out on five of 10 attempts at Triple-A Tacoma this season.

FANTASY VALUE

Thanks to his cup-of-coffee last year, Jones is currently available in most player pools. He's a must add in keeper leagues and worthy of ownership in AL-only leagues. MLB universe managers are advised to watch the transaction wire closely and consider Jones' services when he finally gets the call to make the half-hour trip from Tacoma to Seattle.

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Chris Hadorn
Chris Hadorn has covered minor league and amateur prospects for more than a decade. He writes for San Diego's North County Times and has been a KFFL fantasy baseball contributor since 2006.

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