No Arizona Diamondbacks major leaguer won a Gold Glove this year after Corbin Carroll was beat out by Fernando Tatis Jr. in right field, but the organization did not come away empty-handed.
That’s because center field prospect Druw Jones nabbed a minor league Gold Glove, which was an inevitability after he won the Minor League Defensive Player of the Year.
The 21-year-old with 70-grade fielding and running tools (which on an 80-grade scale is elite) spent the 2025 season in High-A Hillsboro, where he added to his highlight reel of run-saving catches.
A leaping catch at the wall stood out given its reflection of his father Andruw Jones’ ability to climb the fence during his 10-time Gold Glove-winning career.
It must be that Jones DNA 🧬
Exhibit A: The must-see home run robbery Druw Jones (#Dbacks No. 7) hauled in for the High-A @HillsboroHops: https://t.co/bDLyLbRIMI pic.twitter.com/xmhMSbmzo4
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 7, 2025
The younger Jones has maintained that he is an even better defender than his father, who is tied for third for Gold Gloves by an outfielder behind Roberto Clemente and Willie Mays.
Jones’ defensive ceiling is very high, and his offense took a step forward in the second half of 2025 after a really slow start.
Jones struggled with a .597 OPS during the first half of his 2025 campaign for the Hops, and he did not hit a single home run in 63 games. According to MiLB.com, he calmed down some pre-swing movements midseason, which unlocked power.
He hit for a .907 OPS with four home runs and three triples in July, although not all of his home runs left the yard:
DRUW JONES INSIDE THE PARK HOMER 🤯#AllHoppedUp pic.twitter.com/7IAuRAxIy6
— Hillsboro Hops (@HillsboroHops) July 24, 2025
He ended up with a .799 OPS in the second half, ending the year with a .255/.335/.360 slash line, five home runs, five triples, a 23.2% strikeout rate, 10.3% walk rate and 50.8% ground ball percentage.
Jones played a career high 123 games this past season, as injuries (shoulder and hamstring) limited his playing time over the previous two years.
“Just trying to create a better version of myself,” Jones told MLB Network are the next steps. “Just continuing to stack up these at-bats and just trying to take the process as long as it takes. Just going out there and playing as hard as I can every day.”
The Diamondbacks took Jones with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft out of high school. MLB Pipeline has him ranked 14th among Arizona’s prospects given his defensive excellence and offensive questions.
