Vanderbilt Commit Spencer Jones Tweets Out Something You Might Want to See

Suffice it to say the 2019 MLB Draft has been going about as well as I had hoped for Vanderbilt. Though SS Anthony “Tony the Fox” Volpe was taken in the first round by the team he rooted for as a child (so, yeah... he’s signing with NYY), RHP Wesley Scott had informed MLB teams he would be honoring his commitment early in the process, RHP Jack “Lights Out” Leiter (who would have been taken in the first round if he was signable) also let MLB teams know he would be pitching at Hawkins Field (though they were still calling up to draft day trying to make him change his mind), and a few minutes ago, Vanderbilt just landed another biiiiiiiig fish in 6’7” LHP/1B Spencer Jones:

Though not the best bon mot, we’ll excuse it as Spencer Jones coming to campus means we have likely landed yet another #1 incoming freshman class.

In yesterday’s Vanderbilt-centric MLB Draft Primer, I wrote the following about the big lefty:

LHP Spencer Jones

Why am I including the 6’7” LHP/1B in this article when I predict him not to be drafted until day three? Well, he was trending towards being selected in the top half of the first round until he fractured his throwing elbow. If I’m correct, and he makes it to campus, it will be interesting to see if he’s on the Shohei Otani plan—takes over for Julian “Chinfante” Infante at first base while he rehabs his throwing arm for the year. He has the talent to actually be a two way player for our team. That is a rarity.

Range: Rounds 20+.

MLB.com Top 200Ranking: #71.

Prediction: Not chosen tonight, but likely chosen in the later rounds as a team taking a flier on a top tier talent they have little chance of signing.

Chance He Signs With The Team Who Drafts Him: 5%. Had Jones not blown his arm out early this year, I would have had him as a near lock to go in the first 2 rounds and sign the contract. Like Jordan Sheffield before him, he will likely come to Vanderbilt, redshirt his freshman year, and be taken as a draft eligible redshirt sophomore after 2 years on the mound. Of course, his talent is not in doubt, and an MLB front office might look out at the sea of meh that is the latter half of this year’s first round and decide, “Screw it, I’m rolling the dice.” Hence the 5% prediction.

Put another one in the win column for Corbs and Brownie.

This freight train just keeps rolling.