Nolan Jones

Nolan Jones

25-Year-Old OutfielderOF
Colorado Rockies
2023 Fantasy Outlook
The Guardians sent Jones to the Rockies this offseason for 21-year-old second base prospect Juan Brito. Considering Brito is already on the 40-man roster and has not played above Single-A, this was a very light return, but Cleveland didn't have room for Jones at the big-league level and Brito's hit-over-power, up-the-middle skill set fits the organization's priorities. Obviously playing in Colorado is preferable to playing in Cleveland, so from a fantasy standpoint, this was an upgrade. Jones didn't play poorly for a 24-year-old returning to Triple-A (122 wRC+) and getting his first taste of the majors (93 wRC+), but he is a corner outfielder who has not shown an ability to hit for the necessary game power to pull off that profile. The 12.5 BB% and 25.8 K% he showed at Triple-A would be excellent marks if it came with 25-plus homer power, but Jones managed 11 home runs in 83 games last season. His 14.5 Barrel% and 49.1 Hard% in the majors suggest he could still get to enough power to occupy the strong side of a platoon. The Rockies will probably give significant playing time to Kris Bryant, Randal Grichuk and Charlie Blackmon to start the season, and when injuries or poor performance strike, Jones could be the next man up. Read Past Outlooks
RANKSFrom Preseason
#519
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Rockies in March of 2023.
Drives in three in win
OFColorado Rockies
September 28, 2023
Jones went 1-for-5 with a double, a stolen base, three RBI and one run scored in Thursday's 14-5 win over the Dodgers.
ANALYSIS
Jones knocked in one run on a fielder's choice in the third inning and added a two-run double a frame later. He's had a strong end of the season, hitting .330 (31-for-94) in September with six home runs, 10 steals and 21 RBI over 26 contests this month. Jones is at a .290/.383/.535 slash line with 19 homers, 18 steals, 60 RBI, 59 runs scored and 22 doubles across 103 games for the season, which has been a breakout year for the 25-year-old.
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Batting Stats
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2023
2022
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Scoring
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2022 MLB Game Log
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
3
2
10
6
27
17
7
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
2
2
6
7
10
1
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2021
 
 
+3%
OPS vs RHP
2023
 
 
+5%
OPS vs RHP
2022
 
 
-100%
OPS vs RHP
2021
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2021vs Left .867 135 17 7 19 10 .301 .363 .504
Since 2021vs Right .891 383 53 15 56 10 .282 .379 .512
2023vs Left .902 130 17 7 19 10 .314 .377 .525
2023vs Right .945 294 43 13 43 10 .289 .395 .550
2022vs Left .000 5 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
2022vs Right .721 89 10 2 13 0 .259 .326 .395
2021vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2021
 
 
+10%
OPS on Road
2023
 
 
+1%
OPS on Road
2022
 
 
+132%
OPS on Road
2021
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2021Home .842 249 38 10 38 12 .280 .369 .472
Since 2021Away .924 269 32 12 37 8 .294 .379 .545
2023Home .928 211 35 10 33 12 .306 .398 .530
2023Away .935 213 25 10 29 8 .288 .380 .554
2022Home .382 38 3 0 5 0 .143 .211 .171
2022Away .885 56 7 2 8 0 .314 .375 .510
2021Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Nolan Jones compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.42
 
BB Rate
12.5%
 
K Rate
29.7%
 
BABIP
.401
 
ISO
.245
 
AVG
.297
 
OBP
.389
 
SLG
.542
 
OPS
.931
 
wOBA
.402
 
Exit Velocity
90.1 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
40.5%
 
Barrels/PA
9.0%
 
Expected BA
.249
 
Expected SLG
.499
 
Sprint Speed
25.8 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
42.5%
 
Line Drive %
20.0%
 
Fly Ball %
37.5%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
The most noteworthy thing that happened to Jones in 2020 was getting added to the 40-man roster as Rule 5 draft protection. The 22-year-old third baseman spent the summer at the alternate training site and also played in the fall instructional league. He has long excelled at working the count and using the whole field on offense while doing just enough to get by on defense. His patience at the plate leads to plenty of strikeouts as well, and he is unequivocally more valuable in OBP and points leagues than in roto leagues that use AVG. He has plus power to all fields, so he should eventually settle into a spot in the middle third of Cleveland's lineup. Jones has recently gotten work at first base and in the outfield so that he can bring some defensive versatility to the table. He should open the year at Triple-A and could debut this summer if he keeps his strikeout rate in check.
Jones has been at least 47% better than the average hitter in every full-season league he has played in while being young for each level. His 14.7 BB% was the fourth-best mark in the Eastern League, but it was the worst rate of Jones' career. Just based on where he hits the ball (evenly distributed to all fields) and how he hits it (a lot of linedrives and flyballs), his hit tool would rate as one of the best in the minors. However, strikeouts linger as the lone blemish. He has a career 26.7 K% and had a 29.9 K% at Double-A. Jones struggled to make contact in 15 games in the Arizona Fall League, hitting .200 with four HR and a 31:8 K:BB. Thumb surgery cut his AFL run short, but he is expected to be ready for spring training. Jones should become Cleveland's everyday third baseman in 2021, and will be either a big four-cat or big three-cat contributor, depending on whether it's an OBP or AVG league.
While no longer underrated in OBP dynasty leagues (walk rates between 16.2% and 20% at every pro stop), Jones is still under-appreciated among many who play in standard formats. He boasts an exquisite all-fields approach -- the last time more than 39% of his hits went to one third of the field was in rookie ball -- and still shows off his plus power in games. His 147 wRC+ ranked third among Midwest League hitters (min. 300 PA) and his 162 wRC+ ranked second among Carolina League hitters (min. 100 PA). At 6-foot-4 and roughly 195 pounds, he is a below-average runner, but has worked diligently on his defense at third base and should be able to stick at the position. Plenty of strikeouts (25.2 K%) come with all his walks and power production, but he doesn't swing and miss at an unmanageable clip. The Indians may send him to Double-A ahead of his 21st birthday in May, setting up a likely 2020 MLB debut.
The second youngest hitter in the New York-Penn League last year, Jones led the league in wRC+ (171) while ranking second in walk rate (16.2 percent) and sixth in BB/K (0.72). He has pedigree ($2.25 million bonus in 2016), great size (6-4, 185 pounds) and is a good athlete, although he is not much of a runner. He could handle right field or first base if he needs to move off third base down the road, but he is improving with the glove and won’t be moved anytime soon. Jones can work the count and hit to all fields -- an area he has really improved since entering pro ball. In 2016, 45.9 percent of his hits went to the pull side, but last year he cut that mark to 37.7 percent. He shows excellent plate coverage, and is more than willing to take what pitchers give him. With such an impressive foundation, it’s only a matter of time before his plus raw power starts regularly showing up in games.
Jones was expected to come off the board in the first round, but he fell to the Indians at No. 55. However, his $2.25 million bonus ranked 25th in the 2016 class, so he still got paid like a first rounder. At 6-foot-4, 185 pounds, he is still filling out, but should physically resemble a typical middle-of-the-order third baseman in time. A prep product from the Northeast (Pennsylvania) who won't turn 19 until May, it is not surprising that Jones struggled somewhat to adjust to pro pitching, but he still demonstrated a keen eye (17.2 percent walk rate) in the Arizona League. His initial lack of power production does not reflect his long-term projection, as many evaluators think his swing and physique will lead to plus power with an average or better hit tool at maturity. If his contact skills improve and he retains his awareness of the strike zone, all the traits are there for Jones to develop into a special hitter in four or five years.
More Fantasy News
Swats 18th home run
OFColorado Rockies
September 25, 2023
Jones went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and two walks in Sunday's loss to the Cubs.
ANALYSIS
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Strong work in loss
OFColorado Rockies
September 18, 2023
Jones went 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in Monday's 11-9 loss to the Padres.
ANALYSIS
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Fills box score Friday
OFColorado Rockies
September 8, 2023
Jones went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, a walk, two RBI and a stolen base in Friday's 9-8 loss to the Giants.
ANALYSIS
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Notches steal
OFColorado Rockies
September 5, 2023
Jones went 1-for-3 with a walk, a double, one RBI and one stolen base in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Diamondbacks.
ANALYSIS
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Swipes two bags
OFColorado Rockies
September 4, 2023
Jones went 1-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and two stolen bases Sunday against the Blue Jays.
ANALYSIS
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