Greg Jones (shortstop)

Gregory Jones Jr. (born March 7, 1998) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB).[1]

Greg Jones
Tampa Bay Rays – No. 28
Shortstop
Born: (1998-03-07) March 7, 1998
Cary, North Carolina
Bats: Switch
Throws: Right

Early life

Jones was born in Cary, North Carolina.[2] He is the son of Tammy and Greg Jones.[2]

Jones attended Cary High School in Cary, North Carolina.[2][3]

Career

Amateur career

As a senior at Cary High School, he batted .429 with 18 stolen bases.[4] He was ranked sixth in North Carolina and 133rd nationally by Perfect Game.[2] He was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 17th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign.[5] He instead chose to attend the University of North Carolina Wilmington where he played college baseball.[5][3]

In 2018, as a freshman at UNC Wilmington, Jones played and started sixty games, batting .278 with four home runs 21 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases.[6] He played collegiate summer baseball for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League after the season, hitting .242 in 132 at-bats.[7][8] In 2019, his sophomore year, he hit .341 with five home runs, 36 RBIs, and 42 stolen bases in 63 games, and was named the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year.[9][10]

Professional career

Jones was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the first round with the 22nd overall selection of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft.[11][12] He signed with the Rays for $3 million.[13]

Jones made his professional debut with the Hudson Valley Renegades of the Low–A New York–Penn League.[14] Over 48 games, he slashed .335/.413/.461 with one home run, 24 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases.[15] Jones did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[16]

He began the 2021 season with the Bowling Green Hot Rods of the High-A East and was promoted to the Montgomery Biscuits of the Double-A South in August.[17] He missed time during the season due to a quadriceps injury.[18] Over 72 games between the two clubs, he slashed .270/.366/.482 with 14 home runs, forty RBIs, and 34 stolen bases.[19]

He opened the 2022 season back with Montgomery.[20] In 79 games for Montgomery, Jones hit .238/.318/.392 with 8 home runs, 40 RBI, and 37 stolen bases.[21] On November 15, 2022, the Rays added Jones to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[22]

Jones was optioned to the Triple-A Durham Bulls to begin the 2023 season.[23] On 71 games split between Triple–A Durham and Double–A Montgomery, he hit a cumulative .244/.318/.432 with 10 home runs, 35 RBI, and 24 stolen bases. On September 16, 2023, Jones was placed on the 60–day injured list with a hamstring injury, ending his season.[24]

Honors and awards

References
  1. "Greg Jones Stats & Scouting Report". Baseball America. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  2. "Greg Jones - Baseball". UNC Wilmington Athletics. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  3. Leighton, Aram (2021-08-30). "Greg Jones Is Turning Projection Into Production". Just Baseball. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  4. Blake, J. Mike (June 25, 2017). "N&O All-Metro baseball team and final top 25 rankings – 2017". News and Observer. Archived from the original on 2017-06-29. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  5. Tucker, Hank (June 14, 2017). "MLB Draft 2017 Day 3: Where North Carolina baseball players end up in Rounds 11-40". The News and Observer. Archived from the original on 2017-06-17. Retrieved 2017-06-15.
  6. Riley, Alex (February 16, 2019). "UNCW's Jones remains a reluctant superstar". Wilmington Star News. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  7. Zielinski III, Dan (February 21, 2019). "Greg Jones is an intriguing draft-eligible sophomore". The 3rd Man In. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  8. "#2 Greg Jones - Profile". Point Streak. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  9. Chandler, Joey (May 21, 2019). "UNCW shortstop Greg Jones named CAA Player of the Year". Wilmington Star News. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  10. "Fiers goes 6, Olson and Davis homer as A's beat Rays 4-3". ABC7 San Francisco. June 12, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  11. Chandler, Austin (February 11, 2019). "Seahawk Spectacular: Greg Jones enters draft-eligible sophomore year". The Seahawk. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  12. Smist, John (June 4, 2019). "UNCW's Greg Jones selected by Tampa Bay in the first round of MLB draft". WECT News 6. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  13. Topkin, Marc (June 11, 2019). "Rays sign top pick Greg Jones for slot-value $3,027,000". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  14. "Top draftees, prospects begin short-season play". MLB.com. June 14, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  15. Brian Stultz, Brian (September 4, 2019). "Jones' two-run shot powers Renegades". MiLB.com. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  16. Adler, David (June 30, 2020). "2020 Minor League Baseball season canceled". MLB.com. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  17. "Rays' Greg Jones: Receives promotion to Double-A". CBS Sports. August 10, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  18. "Rays' Greg Jones: Could be out two-plus months". CBS Sports. March 28, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  19. Grauer, Scott (12 October 2021). "Rays prospects and minor leagues: Wrapping up the season". DRaysBay. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  20. Kennedy, Jahmal (May 1, 2022). "Greg's journey: 'Only sport I ever played in my whole life'". WFSA. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  21. "Rays' Greg Jones: Shielded from Rule 5 draft". cbssports.com. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  22. "Rays Show Belief In Greg Jones With 40-Man Spot". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  23. "Rays' Greg Jones: Optioned to minors camp". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  24. "Rays' Greg Jones: Lands on 60-day injured list". cbssports.com. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
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