James Jones is the future: Almonte is finished

May 7, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Seattle Mariners center fielder James Jones (99) scores in the sixth inning of their baseball game with the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports.

So last year a 24-year-old kid by the name of Abraham Almonte was called up to the big leagues and made his major league debut on August 30, 2012. That was last year, this year Almonte was favored by manager Lloyd McClendon as the lead off hitter while having a horrendous Spring Training batting only .178 in 78 plate appearances, that spring training continued into the regular season. Almonte has been one of the most disappointing story so far this year for the Mariners, he posted a .198 average and at one point lead the majors in strikeouts with 40. Almonte has continued to struggle even after being sent down to Triple-A Tacoma. In just 5 games he has played with the Rainiers he’s posted and dismal .111 average while striking out 6 times in 18 at bats……..talk about pathetic!

James Jones on the other hand is different. He, in my opinion, is the future center fielder for the Mariners. I constantly joke about getting him confused with Rick Vaughn from Major League just because of the fact that he wear #99. This kid wears 99 and wears the classic stirrups like Brad Miller. Jones is the same age as Almonte but he’s been with the Mariners since he was 19 and in his 5+ season in the minors his career totals are thus. A .282 batting average, 537 hits in 1,902 ABs, 99 doubles, 39 triples, 42 home runs, and 248 RBIs.

When Jones first made his MLB debut in a pinch hit and legged out an infield single I immediately was said “This kid is going to have one helluva career”. The way he beat out an infield single with his lighting speed was impressive. Jones has not only had me saying that he could have a nice career with the Mariners but others as well.

This kid has only played in 9 games but in those 9 games he’s made everyone forget that Almonte guy. Jones has the speed, the arm, and the talent to possibly have a career that most people hope that a lot of minor league stars should have. I mean heck he’s been so good that I picked him up for my fantasy team. But again this kid has shown a lot of potential in just a short amount of time so we shouldn’t get too excited about it but we just cant help ourselves. We still have a long season to go and so we will see just what Jones can and will do for this Mariners team.