MILWAUKEE — When the 6-foot-7, 240-pound outfielder capable of hitting the ball as hard and as far as just about anybody in the organization walked into his first big league clubhouse Friday afternoon, he looked and sounded just like a kid again. 

Spencer Jones found his locker at American Family Field, his No. 78 Yankees jersey hanging inside, and could not stop smiling. He told his manager, Aaron Boone, that it was “the best day ever.” Soon enough, he changed into baseball gear and tried to make things feel normal ahead of making his major league debut against Brewers flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski. 

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While Misiorowski and his 104-mph fastballs provided a “Welcome to the big leagues” moment for Jones, he held his own while going 0-for-2 with a walk in a 6-0 loss to the Brewers. 

“A little nervous, a lot of adrenaline, but having my family there was really special,” Jones said of stepping into the box for the first time. “It was a moment I’ll never forget. 

“What this feels like, it’s really special. All the gratitude and being out there, it’s a kid’s game. It was really cool. I think I’ll hold on to how this feels for the rest of my life.” 

Boone came away impressed by Jones’ at-bats — a strikeout and a walk against Misiorowski and then a strikeout against lefty Shane Drohan. 

“Two strikeouts and a walk, but I thought [he] looked under control and controlled the at-bats pretty well against a pretty tough matchup,” Boone said. 

After getting off to a strong start to the season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, combined with injuries to Giancarlo Stanton and then Jasson Domínguez, the 24-year-old top prospect was called up Friday to try to help the best team in the American League. The former first-round pick served as the DH and hit sixth Friday, but he is expected to see some time in the outfield as well, with Boone indicating he is comfortable with Jones in both center and left. 

Jones, who (perhaps unfairly) has drawn comparisons to Aaron Judge from the moment he was drafted because of their massive size (both 6-7) and power — just from the other side of the plate — was called up for his MLB debut at the same age Judge was (24). They also had similar minor league numbers before their call-up: In 415 games, Jones hit .270 with a .848 OPS, 83 home runs and a 32.7 percent strikeout rate; in 348 games, Judge hit .278 with a .845 OPS, 56 home runs and a 24.6 percent strikeout rate. 

Those strikeouts are the biggest concern that come with Jones, with the question being whether he can provide enough slug to make up for the punch outs. He had slightly cut down on his strikeouts this season at Triple-A, lowering his strikeout rate to 32.4 percent compared to 35.4 percent last year and 36.8 percent in 2024. 

“Just with his power and his size, there’s going to be swing and miss in his game, that’s part of it,” Boone said. “There’s great players around the league that have that. But I think he’s made real adjustments over the last couple years from an approach, from a swing standpoint. I feel like I saw some of those take hold, especially seeing him on an everyday basis in spring training.” 

Jones has cycled through a number of different stances in recent years, trying to find the one that best fits him and his game. This spring, he locked in on one that was at least somewhat modeled after another lefty slugger, Shohei Ohtani, and has settled into it with strong results — batting .258 with a .958 OPS, 11 home runs and 41 RBIs in 33 games at Triple-A. 

“I’m feeling comfortable and I feel like I know what I got to do, the pitch-to-pitch cues I got to make to adjust and at-bat to at-bat,” Jones said. “Mechanically, I feel like we’re in a good spot and just going to keep doubling down on those things.” 

On Friday morning, after making his way from Worcester, Mass., to Milwaukee on Thursday night, Jones told his good friend, Ben Rice, that he would be attached to his hip throughout the day to get his bearings. 

Rice, who played with Jones at multiple levels of the minors and described him as “a chiller,” said he would help as needed. But more than anything, Rice just wanted Jones to know that “he belongs.” 

“I would surely like to just instill the confidence in him that he can play at this level,” Rice said. “He knows he’s good enough and he belongs here. That’s an important thing to recognize.”