Player Profile: Justin Jones

     Last night was the debut for 6’2” 188 lb. LHP Justin Jones. In 2012 at the University of California-Berkeley, Jones appeared in 16 games (starting 15) and posted a 4.57 ERA. In 80.2 innings of work, he struck-out 50 and walked 31. In the Bleacher Report’s “Omaha Eye-Openers” they said that, “He controls his high 80s fastball very well. His curveball and changeup both have slightly above-average potential. That was enough to get him tabbed in the seventh round out of high school by the White Sox.”
         Jones fastball registered on the gun 86-89 mph, with a lot of inside tail to a right-handed batter, and his curveball sat 76-79mph. He was 1.58 seconds to 1.79 seconds with runners on, but that is because of his quirky delivery to the plate. The first weird thing Justin does is pitch from the third-base side of the mound. This is obviously something he feels comfortable in doing. Pitching from the side of the mound is common among several big-leaguers, including C.C. Sabathia (Picture and funny animated GIF Below). Justin Jones takes his “footwork” step to the third base side as well. I firmly believe that it doesn’t matter where, or how, a pitcher steps to set his feet. The important thing is that his head remains above his balance/drive foot. Jones does an excellent job of keeping his head above that drive leg. The next unusual thing, Jones does is when he kicks his leg; he curls his body to gain more momentum to the plate. Justin then kicks his leg out and swings it to the plate. Another belief of mine is that as long as a pitcher maintains balance throughout his delivery and reaches the “power position” effectively then it doesn’t matter what he does. Jones does an excellent job of driving off his back leg to reach that power position upon delivery. Rather than using the “bow and arrow” technique, he uses a straight arm tuck. Finally, Justin Jones does a very good job of allowing his arm and body momentum to finish his pitch. I really like his exaggerated finish. From the side view, I want the viewer to notice that Justin does such an excellent job of driving off his back leg that you can see that his knee has scraped the dirt. From the front view, you can see how he does an excellent job of “hiding the baseball” from the hitter. In fact, you don’t get your first look at the baseball until it is behind his head and on the way to the plate. With this being Justin Jones first appearance, I am not sure what role he is going to fill in the Braves rotation. However, I can see why this lefty, with a high-80’s fastball, was taken by the White Sox out of high school, and he garnered attention from the Bleacher Report.