Drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the fourth round of June’s MLB draft, it was unclear what position former Waterloo Bucks pitcher and outfielder James Jones would play. Many teams scouted the Long Island University prospect as a left-handed pitcher that could hit 95-mph on the radar gun, but the Mariners ultimately drafted the 6-foot-3, 190-pounder as an outfielder.

The Mariners decision has quickly paid its dividends for the Everett AquaSox of the Class-A Short-Season Northwest League, a Seattle affiliate and current home of Jones. In the first eight games of his career, the 2008 Bucks Player of the Year has accumulated 12 hits in 31 at-bats, good for a .387 batting average. Jones has tallied six RBI and five runs over the same span and hit the first home run of his professional career on Tuesday, July 21.