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Spencer Jones and Aaron Judge are both 6-foot-7.
That's the first thing New York Yankees fans are going to hear, over and over, about the slugging outfield prospect who has been promoted to the MLB roster in the aftermath of Jasson Dominguez's injury.
Yes, they're both tall, and yes, they both have prodigious power.
But there's a key difference that means Jones is far from a guarantee to have a career anything like what Judge has put together.
It's the same reasoning that kept Jones off of top-100 prospect lists before this season.
The reality is that Jones swings-and-misses more than Judge ever did in the minor leagues.
Judge had 1,532 minor league plate appearances and struck out 380 times. That's 24.8% of his trips to the plate ending in strikeouts.
Jones has made 1,833 trips to the plate in the minor leagues and struck out 600 times. That's 32.7% of the time.
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That aligns with the overall scouting reports on Jones, where concerns about his whiffing are by far the biggest potential issue.
There were some concerns about how Judge would handle the strike zone at a size rarely seen before from a hitter, and sure, he strikes out plenty.
The problem is that Jones might have a Joey Gallo-level of striking out, and unless he fully taps into his power, that will greatly limit his value.
Obviously, Jones can overcome those concerns, or he can just hit so many home runs that the fact that he also strikes out a ton doesn't matter as much.
He's still got a whole MLB story to be written, and so it's too soon to write him off.
But when the Judge comparisons come up, know that these aren't the same player. Jones has more risk based on his hitting profile. They're the same height, but they're not the same guy.
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