Nolan Jones has made Colorado Rockies history.
Midway through game one of Tuesday's double-header against the Los Angeles Dodgers, first baseman Freddie Freeman singled to left. Jones rifled a throw to catcher Austin Wynns to stop catcher Austin Barnes at third, but Barnes tried to sneak home regardless once Wynns cheated towards another runner rounding second.
Wynns caught Barnes well before he reached the plate with a short throw to pitcher Chase Anderson, giving Jones his 18th outfield assist of 2023. The play kept Los Angeles scoreless to that point, and Colorado went on to win 4-1.
In addition to vaulting him into No. 1 on the league's leaderboard this year, the rookie's latest outfield assist broke the Rockies single-season franchise record. Dante Bichette previously had the most in team history with 17 in 1999.
According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, Jones also ranks second in the Statcast era with four outfield assists of 98-plus miles per hour this year. Hunter Renfroe and Aristides Aquino also had four apiece in 2017 and 2022, respectively, while another Rockies rookie, Brenton Doyle, set the record with six this season.
Jones made his MLB debut with the Cleveland Guardians in 2022. In 28 games, Jones recorded two outfield assists and zero errors. At the plate, though, Jones hit just .244 with a .681 OPS.
In 101 games with the Rockies this year, Jones is batting .292 with 19 home runs, 57 RBI, 17 stolen bases and a .927 OPS. He has a 0.7 defensive WAR and a 4.1 WAR overall, which leads all Colorado players by a full point.
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