TAMPA — What if you had a player fall into the Venn diagram of Giancarlo Stanton’s power, Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s speed and Ryan McMahon’s defensive ability?
Spencer Jones is challenged to reach that heady amalgamation because Major League Baseball is ridiculously hard and he already is approaching his 25th birthday in May with zero MLB at-bats and no clear idea when he will get No. 1.
But it is a reminder of what is tempting about Jones — perpetual prospect and trade candidate, because those three players not only provide hints at his skill set, but also accentuate that if you have above-average major league tools in certain areas, there will be a tolerance for uncomfortable strikeout rates.
Which gets us to a question I asked executives around the sport — at what strikeout rate is Jones a tolerable player if he brings the other skills … and at what is he not? Can you live with him at Chisholm’s 27.9 percent? McMahon’s 33.5? Stanton’s 34.2?
