{"id":176550,"date":"2025-07-14T22:20:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T22:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/176550\/"},"modified":"2025-07-14T22:20:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T22:20:13","slug":"twins-take-utah-righty-merit-jones-in-14th-round","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/176550\/","title":{"rendered":"Twins Take Utah Righty Merit Jones In 14th Round"},"content":{"rendered":"

SALT LAKE CITY \u2013 For the second consecutive season, the Minnesota Twins<\/a> selected University of Utah starting pitcher Merit Jones<\/a> in the later rounds of the MLB draft.<\/p>\n

Minnesota called Jones\u2019 name six rounds earlier this season, taking him in the 14th round (419th overall). Jones was a 20th-round pick of the Twins in 2024.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Yankees Draft Utah\u2019s Core Jackson In Fifth Round Of MLB Draft<\/a><\/p>\n

Congrats to @MeritJones3<\/a> on his selection by the @Twins<\/a> in the 14th round \ud83d\udc4f\ud83d\udc4f<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcf0 https:\/\/t.co\/30Pxypuadf<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/MVLj5nzMrb<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Utah Baseball (@utahbaseball) July 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Jones is sixth in program history with 40 starts and sits tenth on the school\u2019s all-time strikeout list.<\/p>\n

About Merit Jones<\/p>\n

Highly decorated out of Idaho Falls High School in Idaho Falls, Idaho, Jones was the 2022 5A All-Idaho Player of the Year, 2022 Gatorade Idaho Player of the Year, and a 2022 Perfect Game Preseason All-American while playing for head coach Trent Johnson.<\/p>\n

Rated the No. 1 right-handed pitcher in Idaho by Perfect Game and the second-ranked player in the state, Jones went 7-1 with a 1.57 ERA and 71 punchouts over 53.1 innings as a senior. He was 9-0 with a 1.25 ERA and 64 strikeouts as a prep junior.<\/p>\n

Merit Jones \u27a1\ufe0f #MNTwins<\/a><\/p>\n

The @Twins<\/a> have selected RHP Merit Jones (@crosscutters<\/a> ’25) with the 419th pick (14th rd) in the @MLBDraft<\/a>!<\/p>\n

8 G, 2.14 ERA, 21 IP, 33 K, 0.81 WHIP, 14.1 K\/9 pic.twitter.com\/9u6pPZ5fhE<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 MLB Draft League (@mlbdraftleague) July 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Jones made a team-high 13 starts as a freshman for Utah, finishing with a 2-4 record in 60 innings of work. He ended the year third on the team with 49 strikeouts.<\/p>\n

He started 13 of the 14 games he appeared in as a sophomore. Jones ended 2024 with a 3-5 record and 5.66 ERA in 68.1 innings. He ended the season earning his first career save in a Pac-12 Tournament pool play win over Oregon.<\/p>\n

Utah head coach Gary Henderson entrusted Jones with the Friday night starter job as a junior in 2025.<\/p>\n

Jones threw 79 innings, going 4-6 in 15 games (14 starts) with a 6.95 ERA. His four quality starts are probably a better indicator of Jones\u2019 talent than his numbers last season.<\/p>\n

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Brian Preece is a KSLSports.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian\u2019s Bees and Beehive baseball\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0Find Brian on\u00a0X,<\/a>\u00a0Instagram,<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0BlueSky<\/a>\u00a0at @bpreece24.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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