Jahmai Jones cementing his place with Tigers by doing what Andy Ibáñez failed to

On June 6, the Tigers demoted 2024 Wild Card hero Andy Ibáñez to the minors after he batted .213 with a .611 OPS and struggled to do the one thing he's always been excellent at: hit lefties. Ibáñez, a key righty bench bat in a lefty-heavy lineup, was perfect for pinch-hit or substitute situations when opposing teams threw in a lefty reliever. By the time he was demoted, he was hitting just .238 with a .681 OPS against lefties.

The Tigers called up former Yankee Jahmai Jones as the corresponding move. Jones had been excellent in spring training (.884 OPS, three homers, nine RBI), leading to speculation that he'd break the Opening Day roster. Even though he didn't, he announced his eventual arrival to the majors with a first-pitch homer against the Cubs.

Ibáñez's numbers in Triple-A look basically the same as they did in the majors so far, but Jones has been making the most out of his playing time in the majors. He's only gotten three starts but has appeared in five more as a late-innings substitute. Of his 14 at-bats, 11 have been against lefties — and he's absolutely crushing against them. He's hitting .545 with a 1.727 OPS, a double, and two homers.

Jahmai Jones is stealing all of Andy Ibáñez's lefty-killing powers since Tigers call-up

Of course, there's only a very small sample size so far and he'll probably come back down to earth a bit if he remains on the roster for a while, but he's doing exactly what he's supposed to, and he fits perfectly into a bench role as a utility man. He's even more versatile than Ibáñez in that department, with some experience in the outfield.

Jones also has a close, personal connection to Detroit. His father Andre Jones was a linebacker for the Lions in 1992 and passed away in 2011; Jones hit his second major league homer as a Tiger on Father's Day against the Reds.

He said after his call-up by the Tigers: "Detroit's got a special place in my heart just because of the family side. Being able to do it myself and add to it, it's everything I can ask for."

So maybe there's a little bit of magic behind this initial run. At the very least, Jones is performing his role to a T, and so far he's doing everything Ibáñez was supposed to do — but better.