How Acquired
The Braves drafted Colby Jones in the 13th round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of a Florida JUCO. Jones was an Alabama commitment who was known more as a sum of all parts gamer type of player with
some speed.
What Were Expectations?
There weren’t a ton of expectations for Jones this year. After signing last year he played in 28 games, 20 in Augusta with a .671 OPS, followed by seven with Rome and one final game in Double-A. In total he hit .227/.279/.258 over 104 plate appearances. That combined with him being a later pick who didn’t get an overslot bonus had expectations modest for him.
2025 Results
Jones started the year in Augusta and was a part of the speedy Augusta lineup. He played 91 games there slashing .214/.350/.260 with 54 steals and 60 walks to 78 strikeouts – of course he also had only nine extra base hits in that time. After some promotions happened he ended up spending his final 31 games in Rome, where he hit .240/.308/.256 with 15 steals and 10 walks to 28 strikeouts, though with just two extra base hits.
Combined he slashed .221/.339/.259 with seven doubles, three triples, a homer, 69 steals, and 70 walks to 106 strikeouts in 507 plate appearances, splitting time between second, third, and short defensively.
What Went Right?
Jones did a great job of getting on base through the year. Outside of struggling through the month of May, he had an on base percentage of at least .342 in the other four full months of the minor league season. He posted marks of .342, .400, .356, and .346 in each of those months – including his one full month with Rome.
What Went Wrong?
Jones power played at 20-grade (bottom of the scale) in 2025. Only his month of August was even above .269 in slugging percentage, something that just isn’t acceptable for a guy with his speed, as he should be able to turn more singles into doubles at the very least.
2026 Outlook
2026 will be an important year for Jones career. His ability to draw walks and get on base can’t be denied, but he needs to do a better job of impacting the baseball in order to even be an option as a utility player. The hope is he can pick on a few more pounds of muscle and make some changes to his approach in order to have a little more power show up for him.
If he is able to add a little more power it isn’t hard to imagine him reaching a utility type of prospect with his speed, on base ability, and defensive versatility.
