How did he get here?: Drafted, 2009 (22nd Round)
Stats: 6'7", 205 lbs, Throws: Right
Age as of April 1, 2011: 20
2010 Overview
| IP | ERA/WHIP | K:BB | BAA | K/9 | BB/9 |
| 48.1 | 3.91/1.70 | 31:29 | .290 | 5.8 | 5.4 |
2009:
| IP | ERA/WHIP | K:BB | HR/9 | K/9 | BB/9 |
| 21.2 | 4.57/1.85 | 13:13 | 0.0 | 5.4 | 5.4 |
What happened?
Jones had a rough 2009, getting converted from a starter to a reliever midway through the season (11.37 ERA as a starter; 1.76 ERA as a reliever). 2010 saw him improve on quite a few of his statistics in a full season back as a starter.
Jones made ten starts for the GCL Astros, and in typical GCL fashion, didn't last long enough to get much in the way of decisions. Still, he finished with a 2-2 record - with one win coming in a 3IP relief appearance.
What went right?
Home Games. In four appearances at home, he posted 2.81 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. Still, his away splits weren't terrible either. In seven road starts, he posted a 4.45 ERA/1.76 WHIP. While you may not be impressed, keep in mind that in 2009, his away line (in 7.2IP) was 8.22 ERA/2.09 WHIP.
The first two-thirds of his season. In seven appearances in June and July, Jones allowed just nine earned runs in 32.2IP.
Facing lefties. Lefties hit just .186 against Jones in 2010.
What went wrong?
Walks. After his first start, where he struck out six and walked two in 5IP, he went the rest of the way with 25K:27BB. And he walked 12 batters with runners in scoring position, so that's obviously going to need to stop.
Keeping the bases empty. When the bases were empty, he didn't allow any runs, but they didn't stay empty long - 23 reached by hit, 13 by walk.
While Jones' walk rate is remarkably consistent (5.4 BB/9 in both seasons), he did show improvement, getting more groundballs (1.62 in 2010, as opposed to 1.55 in 2009) and lowering his BAA (.314 to .290).
He's a big guy, and just turned 20 at the end of August, so given his relative youth, I'm thinking Greeneville is a likely destination for him to see what he can do against a little bit older competition.
