Thinking about Adam Jones
Let's start off with the book comment.
Jones is having a breakthrough offensive season for Triple-A Tacoma, currently hitting .317/.385/.589 with 19 homers for the Rainiers. His power output is increasing. However, his speed production is down, he's got just five steals in 11 attempts, and it would not surprise me at all to see the whole steal factor go by the wayside for him in the long run. The Mike Cameron comparisons look less apt now. Jones won't steal as many bases nor draw as many walks as Cameron.
Although Jones has made major progress this year no question, there are still some issues here and the Mariners are wise to give him additional Triple-A time. He is striking out more than once per game, 81 K in 76 games, 319 at-bats, with 27 walks. If you put him in the majors now, I think he's hit for power but would have a hard time keeping his batting average over .250 due to contact issues, at least once the pitchers learned him.
In the long run, at age 21 he's got plenty of time to work this out. My guess is that Jones is going to have a very long and successful career, hitting for plenty of power and providing great defense, although without that many stolen bases. His batting average and OBP will be erratic. . .he's the kind of guy who could hit .300 in his peak seasons but also have some campaigns where he hits .240.
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