The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Jones’ climb continues as Captain
Captains third baseman Nolan Jones understands numbers.
During an interview April 2 at Classic Park, where the Captains were preparing for their season opener April 5 against the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Tin Caps, Jones said math was his favorite subject at Holy Ghost Prep High School in eastern Pennsylvania.
The numbers explain why Baseball America rates Jones as the fourth-best prospect in the Indians’ organization going into the 2018 season.
Last year, in 62 games at shortseason Single-A Mahoning Valley, the 6-foot-4, 185-pound Jones batted .317 with four home runs and 33 RBI. He finished with team-high totals of games played, 69 hits, 41 runs, 19 doubles and 43 walks. His .430 on-base percentage was tops not just on the Scrappers but in the New York-Penn League.
Even before he put up those big numbers at Mahoning Valley, Jones was high on baseball’s radar screen after he was taken by the Indians with the 50th overall pick in the second round of the June 2016 draft. He received a $2.5 million signing bonus.
“Will and I talk about this all the time,” Jones said, referring to Lake County teammate Will Benson, the Indians’ first-round pick in the June 2016 draft out of high school in Georgia.
Benson, the 14th overall pick, also received a $2.5 million signing bonus.
“The cool thing about baseball is that once you are in the clubhouse and wearing the uniform, none of the draft and signing stuff matters,”
Jones said. “All that matters is what you do on the field.”
Jones’ professional debut in 2016 with rookie-league Arizona was unremarkable. He batted .257 with no home runs and nine RBI in 32 games.
“I was too worried about hitting home runs to prove I had power,” Jones said. “My numbers got better at Mahoning Valley because I learned to stay within myself and focus on hitting the ball hard.”
Captains manager Luke Carlin managed the Scrappers last season. He had an up-close look at Jones’ quantum leaps forward at the plate and in the field.
“The ability to put the bat on the ball was already there,” Carlin said. “What most impressed me was how hard Nolan worked to improve defensively and how he matured as a person.”
Growing up, Jones was equally as enthusiastic about hockey as baseball. He played left wing in high school and on upper-level traveling teams coached by former NHL All-Star Keith Primeau. His teammates included older brother Peyton Jones, now the starting goaltender at Penn State.
Jones said he stopped playing hockey after his junior year in high school to focus on baseball. He was offered a baseball scholarship at the University of Virginia but elected to sign with the Indians.
“I’ve had no second thoughts about that decision,” Jones said. “Playing professional baseball is a grind, but I absolutely love every minute of it.”
Jones has forged a close friendship with Benson. They were teammates in Arizona and at Mahoning
Valley. This season, they’re together making the move up to Lake County for their first exposure to a 140-game schedule.
There’s a chance they could stay together during an upward progression to hoped-for debuts with the Indians.
“That would be a dream come true to get to the big leagues at the same time with your best friend,” Jones said. “Will and I are roommates and hitting partners. We’re different people, but we have the same commitment to be the best. We push each other.”
Jones comes from an athletically inclined family. His younger sister, Liana, is a senior in high school who has accepted a softball scholarship at Penn State. His youngest brother, Andrew, excels in baseball and hockey.