Jones shows power, working on consistency at the plate

This story was excerpted from Thomas Harding’s Rockies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Rockies rookie Nolan Jones has some impressive numbers, which have to do with how hard and far he hits a baseball. He also has to endure numbers that say he didn’t hit it enough.

But he carries with him good advice on how to deal with it all. At his mother’s suggestion, the word “BREATHE” is stitched on the back of the index finger of his glove. It’s helping.

“I’m in a good mental headspace,” Jones said. “Every day is a new opportunity. Sometimes it gets frustrating. Two strikeouts [Saturday], I wasn’t able to put a bat on the ball and give our team a chance. But in the third at-bat, I was able to put a good swing on the ball.”

That third swing was a 445-foot, three-run homer off JT Chargois in the Rockies’ 4-3 victory over the Marlins.

The average exit velocity on his eight home runs is 109.7 mph and the average distance is 440 feet. No player with as many homers has averaged faster or longer.

But in his 12 games so far in July, Jones is slashing .162/.205/.405. In keeping with the mixed numbers, half of his six hits are home runs.

“If it goes over the fence, it goes over the fence,” Jones said. “There are definitely a lot of numbers that I care about a lot more than how far it goes.

“I look at strikeouts. I think I’m the guy that slugs and can hit the ball far, but that consistency is something I’m always trying to work on. I’ve been striking out way too much, and that’s something that hurts the team. Slugging matters. Walking matters.”