San Francisco Giants Prospect Jonah Cox Adds Offense To Speed, Defense

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“He’s a familiar name that popped out at us as we were going through the A’s system,” said Farhan Zaidi, the Giants’ director of baseball operations at the time. “Really good athlete, can really run, can really play center field. He’s not coming from one of the bigger college conferences, so expect some adjustment with the bat. But he had an outstanding ’23 college season. We think with a little bit more adjustment to pro ball, the bat can come along, as well.”

Zaidi, replaced by retired Giants playing legend Buster Posey in September 2024, may have left the franchise with a gem of a player who has seemingly made those adjustments.

The son of former big league catcher Darron Cox got a modest $300,000 to sign with Oakland as the 166th overall pick in 2023. He had gained attention by swiping 120 bases total in one season apiece at Butler (KA) CC, Eastern Oklahoma State JC and Oral Roberts.

As a junior at ORU, he had a 47-game hitting streak and went hitless just twice in 66 games, batting .412 with 69 runs, 68 RBI, 11 homers and 28 steals.

That speed has translated well on the bases and in the field as a professional. The other parts of the 24-year-old’s game are catching up.

The Need For Speed

Recent rules changes have made Cox’s choice commodity – speed – especially valued. Teams are placing more emphasis on the running game, where he is nearly unstoppable, pilfering 155 bases while being thrown out only 25 times as a pro.

It also translates in the field. In more than 1,700 pro innings in center field, he has a range factor of 2.93 per game. Range factor is a stat seldom talked about as it includes a wide variable of aspects used to try to approximate a fielder’s worth. So is 2.93 good?

PHILADELPHIA: Willie Mays, center fielder for the San Francisco Giants, and Richie Ashburn, center fielder for the Philadelphia Phillies, before a game in the late 1950s. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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According to stats on Baseball-Reference.com, only three players in Major League history have a better career number. Two of them are in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Richie Ashburn (3.016 for 15 seasons) and Max Carey (2.959 over 20 seasons). The other player is Dwayne Murphy (2.984 over 12 years).

Other Hall of Fame center fielders ranking highly are Andre Dawson (No. 10), Kirby Puckett (15), Robin Yount (20), Carlos Beltran (22), Joe DiMaggio (27) and Andruw Jones (30). Yount’s fine catch with two outs in the ninth inning robbed Eddie Murray from breaking up a no-hitter.

The top active MLB center fielder is Julio Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners with a .2611 range factor, 39th overall for a career.

While most valuable in center, Cox also is spectacular in right field or left as he showed by snaring the final out of a game with a great effort last year for the Eugene (OR) Emeralds.

The Need For Improvement

At 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, Cox is too solidly built to be a slap-and-run singles hitter. Giants instructors are working to unlock more power.

With 17 of his 43 hits thus far going for extra bases (9 doubles, 4 triples, 4 homers) for the Richmond Flying Squirrels, Cox’s slugging percentage of .697 is third in the league and by far the best of his career.

On May 6th, Cox displayed both bunting and home-run prowess in a win at Akron. He beat out a bunt for a single and later delivered an opposite-field homer in the ninth inning that turned a 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 win.

A good nickname for him would be “The Human Highlight Reel”.

Not Just Another Nickname

Bob Ferguson has two claims to fame. He was the pro game’s first switch-hitter with the 1860s. He apparently played good defense as he was given the formidable yet clumsily nutty nickname of “Death To All Flying Things”.

While sounding like a boast straight from a Middle Eastern conflict, Ferguson earned the moniker as an infielder who was adept at catching popups with his bare hands and later in his career with skin fitting mittens, the first crudely made fielding gloves.

SEATTLE: Franklin Gutierrez of the Seattle Mariners catches a fly ball hit by Juan Uribe of the Cleveland Indians at Safeco Field on June 8, 2016. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

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Ferguson’s teammate Jack Chapman also fielded well and the nickname was applied to him. Nearly 130 years later, Seattle Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus “appropriated” the nickname and applied it to fine-fielding outfielder Franklin Gutierrez.

Gutierrez’s agent missed a great marketing ploy. The good-natured Venezuelan would have made a good commercial spokesman for a flying insect spray by that nickname.

Jonah Cox’s Future With San Francisco Giants

The big-league team needs offensive help. San Francisco is last in MLB in runs per game (3.47) and stolen bases (12).

Slugging prospect Bryce Eldridge was called up after batting .333 with 5 homers in 30 Triple-A games. The first-round pick (No. 16 overall) in 2023 has fizzled thus far, hitting .095 (2-for-21).

So why not try Cox? He’s on a hot streak and sure to be an adept outfielder who would not damage and likely improve the Giants’ defense. Getting on base ahead of Eldridge could help the young slugger get more fastballs to hit.

He probably could not do worse at bat than Harrison Bader. Signed to a two-year, $20 million contract in January, the 32-year-old is hitting .136 (8-for-59) without a stolen base. He’s lost the job in center to 25-year-old Drew Gilbert (.229, 0 steals).

Until then, Cox could provide a much-needed spark on the bases. And maybe much more for the San Francisco Giants.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com