Seattle, WA – On November 20, former Waterloo Bucks utility man James Jones was promoted to the Seattle Mariners’ 40-man roster. Jones, who is originally from Brooklyn, New York, was one of four Tacoma Rainiers players to be called up from Triple-A and placed on Seattle’s 40-man squad.

 

Jones, who played with Waterloo in 2008, was drafted in the fourth round of the 2009 MLB Draft (113^th overall) by the Mariners. Since being drafted as an outfielder, Jones has played in 491 games in Seattle’s farm system, hitting .281 with 40 home runs, 240 RBI, and 94 stolen bases. Jones started the past season with the Jackson Generals of the Double-A Southern League. There, he was named a mid-season All-Star. At the end of the year, Jones was promoted to Tacoma where he played in four games, hitting .333 with one run batted in. 

 

While with the Bucks, Jones was a two-way player, seeing action on both the mound and in the outfield for the team.  The Long Island University-Brooklyn product was named the Waterloo Bucks Roth Jewelers Player of the Year in 2008.  Jones finished the ’08 Northwoods League season with a 5-2 record, a 2.45 ERA, and 58 strikeouts.  At the plate, Jones hit .296 with eight doubles and 15 RBI.  For his efforts, Jones was honored as one of Baseball America’s Top 10 MLB prospects in the NWL.

 

The Waterloo Bucks are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21^st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including MLB All-Stars Max Scherzer (DET), Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYY), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live and free of charge via the Northwoods League YouTube channel.  For more information, visit www.waterloobucks.com.

 

– 30 –