Rookie Brenton Doyle has been making most of the headlines when it comes to the Colorado Rockies and outfield assists as of late, but Nolan Jones made sure to remind everyone of his own cannon Monday night.
Jones – who still has rookie eligibility himself despite debuting with the Cleveland Guardians in 2022 – fielded a soft line drive to left in the top of the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs. One man had already come in to score on the play to give Chicago a 3-1 lead, but Jones made sure the rally ended there.
Right fielder Seiya Suzuki rounded third with a head of steam, only for Jones' one-hop toss to beat him to the plate for the third out of the inning. Cubs manager David Ross challenged the result of play, but the call was upheld and the Rockies officially got out of the jam.
Jones' outfield assist was clocked at 102.7 miles per hour, which is the fastest in baseball so far this season. It is also the fastest by any Rockies outfielder since Statcast was introduced in 2015.
According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, Jones' outfield assist was the fifth-fastest of the Statcast era, and the fastest since 2018. Aaron Hicks set the record of 105.5 miles per hour with the New York Yankees in 2016, while Brett Phillips, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Carlos Gómez stand between him and Jones.
Jones is now tied for the most outfield assists in the league this season with 15. Besides Jones and Washington Nationals right fielder Lane Thomas, no other player has more than 11.
On top of his success in the field, Jones is batting .280 with 15 home runs, 49 RBI, 13 stolen bases, an .873 OPS and a 2.4 WAR through 87 appearances in 2023.
The Rockies, meanwhile, are mathematically eliminated from postseason contention. Blowing a one-run, ninth-inning lead to the Cubs on Monday didn't help either, as the 5-4 loss knocked them down to 51-92 on the season and a league-worst 3-17 since Aug. 20.
Colorado and Chicago will continue their series at Coors Field on Tuesday at 8:40 p.m. ET.
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