The Book on Brandon Jones

Prospect Info


ATLBrandon Jones
Born 12/10/1983
OF, ATL

The top OF prospect in the Braves system, Brandon Jones put his licks in well (295/.367/.490, 19 homers) at both AA Mississippi and AAA Richmond in 2007, as what is widely seen to be a warmup and audition to help the Braves decide whether or not he's ready to replace their other Jones in center. By all accounts, he's ready for the bigs. Will the Braves have enough confidence to start the season with the rookie in the outfield, or will they sign a veteran CF to keep the grass warm for one more season while they wait for Brandon to get a little more seasoning?

He's widely seen to have the edge on other baby Brave OFs like Jordan Schafer and Jason Heyward, mainly because of the defensive savvy he brings to the table, but his bat is no slouch, either, and he should be able to hold his own in the young, scrappy Atlanta batting order. The only question, really, is whether his decade as the Braves' CF starts in 2008 or 2009. Whenever it starts, his career looks to be long and productive.

Ranking in ScoutingBook (8/27/2008): #51

Ranking in Baseball America 2008: #70

Ranking in Baseball Prospectus: #70

Ranking in MiLB.com Season Preview Unranked

Ranking from the Sporting News: Unranked

Ranking from ESPN: Unranked


Player Updates and Notes

The Braves acquisition of Mark Kotsay from the A's pushes Jones down a notch on the depth chart. In the absence of other moves, he'll now compete for fourth or fifth OF spot in Spring Training.

1/12/2008 by BallGrrrl


 

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