Although listed as a first baseman, Bradley Jones has been moved all over the infield during this 2017 season with the majority of his starts coming at second base, a position he had never played professionally until this year. With three starts coming at third base and just two at his natural position of first, it would be fair to give a player like Jones an adjustment period both in the field and at the plate. However, the 21 year old out of Travelers Rest, South Carolina has made a statement early on in his 2017 campaign that he cannot only add value statistically, but also through his versatility, no adjustment period needed.
The Lansing Lugnuts lineup is full of hot hitters like Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but it is Jones who has been the big producer on offense. His six homeruns are tied for first in the MWL and his 19 RBI put him alone at the top of the leader board. The slashline of .367/.418/.733 is eye popping, but, all small sample sizes aside, the wRC+ of 224 has him sitting among the top three run creators in the league. Obviously it is not sustainable, but it is impressive through 16 games.
While Jones has been consistently blistering MWL pitching, he has been really hot this past week in particular.
4/17 @ Dayton: 3/5, 2 HR, 6 RBI
4/18 @ Dayton: 1/4, 1 RBI
4/19 @ Dayton: 2/4, 1 HR, 2 RBI
4/20 vs Bowling Green: 0/4
4/21 vs Bowling Green: 1/4, 1 2B, 1R
4/23 vs Bowling Green: 2/4, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Jones started the week out on fire by homering once in the seventh inning and then again in the eighth inning to lead a comeback victory for Lansing over Dayton. He hit his third homer in three games in the series finale with Dayton before htting another on Sunday to close out the series against Bowling Green. Jones’ four homers, twelve RBI, and five runs scored made him the clear cut favorite to win this week’s Legends on Deck Midwest League Player of the week honors.
Featured Image by: Mathew Carper/Legends on Deck
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