pitched a one-hitter as a freshman. He went to The Bolles School as a sophomore, where he was a two-way player in football. In baseball, he had a 6–3 win–loss record with 87 strikeouts and a 1.89 earned run average (ERA) as a pitcher, with a .391 batting average and seven home runs, earning him First Team All-State honors. In 1989, Jones won First Team All-State honors in both football and baseball, and won a state championship in baseball. He was also selected as the tournament's most valuable player, and had an 11–1 pitching record, 0.81 ERA, and 107 strikeouts in 84 innings pitched. In his senior year, the Bulldogs were the state-runner up while Jones compiled a 7–3 record with a 1.00 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 79 innings on the mound, while hitting .488 with 14 stolen bases. Jones won the Gatorade Circle of Champions Florida Baseball Player of the Year, Regional Baseball Player of the Year, was the Runner-up National Player of the Year, and was inducted into the Florida High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2012. Jones accepted a scholarship offer to play college baseball at the University of Miami. Professional career Draft The Atlanta Braves selected Jones as the first pick overall in the 1990 Major League Baseball draft and signed him to a contract with a $275,000 signing bonus. Atlanta expressed a desire to select pitcher Todd Van Poppel as the first pick; however, Van Poppel explicitly stated that he would not sign with the Braves. Atlanta then selected Jones, who played shortstop at the time. Minor leagues (1991–1993) In 1991, Jones played with the Macon Braves, Atlanta's class-A minor league affiliate. His average was .326, with 24 doubles, 11 triples, 15 home runs, 40 steals, 69 walks, and 79 strikeouts in 473 at bats; however, he made 56 errors at the shortstop position. Jones moved up to the Durham Bulls, the Braves' class A-advanced minor league team, in 1992. Jones's average was .277 after 70 games; he was then moved to double-A Greenville Braves where he cut his error total from 56 in the previous season to 32. Following a successful season, Jones played with the triple-A Richmond Braves, where he played 139 games before being called to Atlanta for his major league debut. During his time in the Braves' minor league system, Jones was involved in a bench-clearing brawl with