Giants rookie Jones played MLB: The Show to prepare for deGrom
San Francisco Giants rookie Ryder Jones will have some stiff competition to deal with during his MLB debut on Saturday evening when he squares off with New York Mets hurler Jacob deGrom, but the youngster made sure to formulate a unique game plan to get him ready.
Jones told Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area he prepared to face the Mets All-Star for the first time by playing against the video game version of deGrom in MLB: The Show on PlayStation.
DeGrom has a player rating of 89 in MLB: The Show, which puts him in a tie for 11th highest among starting pitchers in the game, trailing the likes of Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, and Chris Sale.
MLB: The Show 2017 ratings for SP
| PITCHER | RATING |
|---|---|
| Clayton Kershaw | 99 |
| Max Scherzer | 93 |
| Chris Sale | 93 |
| Noah Syndergaard | 92 |
| Corey Kluber | 92 |
| Jake Arrieta | 92 |
| Madison Bumgarner | 92 |
| Stephen Strasburg | 90 |
| Jon Lester | 90 |
| Johnny Cueto | 90 |
| Jacob deGrom | 89 |
The 23-year-old Jones had his contract purchased from Triple-A on Saturday to provide the Giants with additional utility depth. In a corresponding move, San Francisco designated Aaron Hill for assignment.
Jones was hitting .299/.390/.553 with 10 home runs, 16 doubles, and 33 RBIs in the minors.