Detroit Tigers: It Is Extremely Early, but Trading Cameron Maybin Looks Like Right Move

JaCoby Jones

Maybin’s trade to Anaheim opened up the center field spot for one of Detroit’s more promising prospects.

With Derek Hill and Jose Azocar still in the low minors and Mike Gerber seeing more time as a corner outfielder, JaCoby Jones has firmly established himself as the Detroit Tigers center fielder of the future.

Early on in 2017, the former Pittsburgh Pirates farmhand has shown flashes of why he’ll be a long-term contributor in the Motor City.

In seven games (21 at-bats), Jones has collected four RBI, two runs scored, a home run and a double.

While he’s struck out six times, the center fielder has drawn three walks.

What’s more, three of his seven strikeouts came in Monday’s win over the Red Sox. Boston’s pitcher that game was ace Chris Sale.

Sale’s nasty stuff and arm angle make him a tough matchup for any hitter.

Strikeout totals aside, Jones hasn’t waved at as many pitches outside the zone in general.

The sample sizes between last season (13 games, 28 plate appearances) and this season (seven games, 21 plate appearances) are admittedly small for Jones.

However, they are similar in size for comparison’s sake.

Last season, Jones turned in a 44.6 O-Swing percentage. This season, that number is down to 34.7 percent.

O-Swing percentage is a stat that looks at how often a batters takes a hack at a pitch outside the zone.

If Jones can continue to keep that number down all season, he’ll be in excellent shape.

JaCoby Jones’ Value

Depending on who you ask, Jones has also been a key member of Detroit’s roster in terms of defense and base running.

Baseball Reference had him at a 0.4 WAR entering Wednesday, while FanGraphs had him at a 0.1 number beginning of the day.

WAR numbers generally aren’t very at the beginning of seasons. Still, Jones has shown his value.

If you use Baseball Reference’s number, the 24-year-old owns the second-best WAR among position players after Tuesday. If you use FanGraphs’ stat, he checks in sixth among non-pitchers.

Much of the reason the WAR is so high—relatively speaking—is due to the defense and base running.

Jones paces the Tigers with a DRS (defensive runs saved) and rPM (plus minus runs saved) of two.

He also leads all Detroit players with a 0.2 BsR, a stat used in relation to base running, in the early going.

Jones is one of two center field options for the Detroit Tigers in the early parts of the 2017 season.

The other is also thriving with the added playing time following the Maybin trade.