sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Gregory Jones Jr. (born March 7, 1998) is an American professional baseball shortstop in the Tampa Bay Rays organization.[1]

Greg Jones
Tampa Bay Rays
Shortstop
Born: (1998-03-07) March 7, 1998 (age 24) Cary, North Carolina
Bats: Switch Throws: Right

Early life

Jones was born in Cary, North Carolina.[2] He is the son of Tammy and Greg Jones.[2]

Jones attended Cary High School in Cary, North Carolina.[2][3]

Career

Amateur career

As a senior at Cary High School, he batted .429 with 18 stolen bases.[4] He was ranked sixth in North Carolina and 133rd nationally by Perfect Game.[2] He was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 17th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign.[5] He instead chose to attend the University of North Carolina Wilmington where he played college baseball.[5][3]

In 2018, as a freshman at UNC Wilmington, Jones played and started sixty games, batting .278 with four home runs 21 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases.[6] He played collegiate summer baseball for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League after the season, hitting .242 in 132 at-bats.[7][8] In 2019, his sophomore year, he hit .341 with five home runs, 36 RBIs, and 42 stolen bases in 63 games, and was named the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year.[9][10]

Professional career

Jones was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the first round with the 22nd overall selection of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft.[11][12] He signed with the Rays for $3 million.[13]

Jones made his professional debut with the Hudson Valley Renegades of the Class A Short Season New York–Penn League.[14] Over 48 games, he slashed .335/.413/.461 with one home run, 24 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases.[15] Jones did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[16]

He began the 2021 season with the Bowling Green Hot Rods of the High-A East and was promoted to the Montgomery Biscuits of the Double-A South in August.[17] He missed time during the season due to a quadriceps injury.[18] Over 72 games between the two clubs, he slashed .270/.366/.482 with 14 home runs, forty RBIs, and 34 stolen bases.[19]

He opened the 2022 season back with Montgomery.[20]

Honors and awards

• 2018 All-Rookie Team, Colonial Athletic Association[2]
• 2018 All-Tournament, Colonial Athletic Association[2]
• 2019 First-team All-State[2]
• 2019 Bryan Britt Award, University of North Carolina Wilmington[2]
• 2019 All-Tournament, Colonial Athletic Association[2]
• 2019 Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Colonial Athletic Association[2]
• 2019 All-America (Third team), National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association[2]
• 2019 All-America (Third team), American Baseball Coaches Association[2]
• 2019 Player of the Year, Colonial Athletic Association[2]
• 2019 First-team All-Colonial Athletic Association[2]
• 2019 First-Team All-East, American Baseball Coaches Association[2]

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball Reference (Minors)

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