It was a cold and windy night at Prince George’s Stadium, with the Bowie Baysox taking on the Trenton Thunder (NYY). RHP Devin Jones toed the rubber for the Baysox and pitched fairly well.

To start, I need to reiterate how cold and windy it was last night. I believe it had some effect on Jones. He seemed to not be as crisp with a few of his offerings, especially his Slider. He also seemed to have some trouble warming up on the mound in the 2nd inning. Cold weather is tough on a pitcher, as it effects the grip on pitches and his control in general.

Jones struggled in the first inning, giving up a home run to Trenton’s Tyler Austin on a flat fastball in the left-middle zone. I have circled that pitch in red. He had real trouble commanding his fastball in the first inning, likely some of that attributed to icicles growing off of his fingers due to the weather. He was also helped out by a weird (and dumb) bunt play. Trenton’s Slade Heathcott attempted to bunt for a single and the ball hit him half way up the line, resulting in an out.

He showed much better command and control out of his fastball in the second and third innings. The Slider was very inconsistent, as he could not find his grip on the pitch at all and his release point was off. The pitch is plus though, and I have seen him crush hitters with it in the past. He threw a few that were plus last night, but most were flat and did not have the intended bite.

The fourth inning was easily his best, as he was able to pound his sinking fastball in on a LHH and induce a broken-bat ground ball. He followed this with a swinging strike-out on a Slider below the zone to a LHH. This was the best pitch he threw all night. Jones had a short fifth inning. There was a fly-out double play from Henry Urrutia, whom doubled up the runner at first. Jones was hit hard in this inning, which happened to be the third time through the lineup.

Overall, I was impressed again with Jones. He is a solid prospect with potential to break with the MLB club at some point. I question whether he can start at the MLB level, as he really needs to refine his change more and his command and control could still improve. He does look to have some room for growth in his frame. In order to stick as a starter, he will need to have three strong pitches, not just two. Either way, I think he can help the Orioles in the bullpen at the very least.

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FB: 88-92 and touched 93. Late life with some downward sink and some late tailing action. When kept low, induces a ton of ground balls.
CH: 81-85 with average fade. Inconsistent pitch lagging behind FB and SL, but shows promise at times.
SL: 79-85 with good bite and some late sweep. Plus pitch with MLB potential.

1st Inning: 15 pitches (12 FB, 1 CH, 2 SL)
2nd Inning: 12 pitches (7 FB, 3 CH, 2 SL)
3rd Inning: 22 pitches (13 FB, 2 CH, 7 SL)
4th Inning: 15 pitches (12 FB, 2 CH, 1 SL)
5th Inning: 9 pitches (6 FB, 2 CH, 1 SL)
Total: 73 pitches (50 FB, 10 CH, 13 SL)
Key Stats: 1 HR, 6/1 GB/FO
Final Line: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Devin Jones PitchChart

Tucker Blair
Tucker Blair

Tucker Blair was born and raised in the Baltimore area and currently lives in Elkridge, Maryland. He graduated from York College of Pennsylvania with a B.S in Entrepreneurial Studies and is currently a Project Analyst for a Management Consulting Firm in Federal Hill, Baltimore. Tucker was previously the Managing Editor at Orioles Nation, where he worked on prospect lists, reports, and analysis on the Orioles minor league system. He also previously wrote his personal blog, The EntreprenOriole.

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