Both times against righties. The Guardians are giving more opportunity to Jhonkensy Noel, and it’s coming at Jones’s expense. Unfortunately, Jones’s sterling 58% hard-hit rate just hasn’t resulted in much production thus far, as he’s batting .171/.284/.286. That he has the best contact and exit velocity numbers of his career should pay off at some point.

The surface-level stats for Jones are not great. He’s hitting .190/.311/.317 on the season with one home run and five RBI. However, he has hit second or clean-up against right-handed pitching, and many of the plate discipline and contact metrics look much better under the hood. You shouldn’t add Jones now outside of the deepest possible formats, but he is a player to at least keep on your radar in case the process stats start to carry over onto the field.

A nice day that could have been better; Jones’s homer was a 399-footer that would have been a homer in 12 ballparks, and he had a 107-mph grounder that turned into a double play. Jones is still batting just .174/.309/.261, but 19 of his 30 balls in play have been hard hit. He seems to be on his way back to being a useful outfielder for a major league team. Whether it will result in much fantasy value away from Coors Field remains to be seen.

Mike Clevinger walked three in a row after an infield single opened the inning. The walk was Jones’s second of the day, and he found a way to contribute even though he’s still batting just .125 (3-for-24) on the young season. The Guardians figure to remain patient here; Jones is out of options, so he can’t simply be sent down.