Cleveland Indians Minor League Report: 3 players who were cold in May

Nolan Jones, 3B, Triple-A Columbus

After entering the season as one of the most intriguing talking points on the Tribe’s roster, Nolan Jones struggled through the month of May for the Columbus Clippers. The offseason saw talk of how Jones could fit in with Cleveland’s roster, but now the club’s No. 1 prospect, and the No. 29 prospect on MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects list, could be fighting to stay in Triple-A Columbus and not go down to Double-A Akron.

We’ll start with a positive for Jones before we dive into the negatives. He did lead the Columbus Clippers in walks with 16 over the course of 22 games played as well as being tied for third in Triple-A East for the stat. However, the rest of his offensive production was a bit underwhelming for a team’s No. 1 prospect.

In 74 at-bats, Jones logged just 14 hits for a batting average of .189. The walks along with five doubles helped improve his other numbers, but his slash line was still just .189/.341/.297. He also tallied just one home run and only six RBI while striking out a team-high 39 times, also tied for the most in all of Triple-A.

Maybe part of the issue is finding a rhythm. Jones has played three different positions in Columbus, being third, first and right field. Being moved around and at a new level could just be culminating for a difficult adjustment. Hopefully, he improves his stats in June.

Next: Oscar Mercado