Giants Rookie Ryder Jones Used 'MLB The Show' to Prep for Jacob deGrom

The San Francisco Giants' Ryder Jones made his major league debut against one of the league's best pitchers, New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom, Saturday.

He did a bit of prep work beforehand, facing him on the video game MLB The Show, with Triple-A Sacramento teammate Christian Arroyo playing the role of deGrom.

"We were just messing around," Jones, who played third base, told reporters. "I think I got a knock, maybe a popup. Arroyo was manning deGrom, and he threw me some good pitches."

Jones had his struggles in both the simulation and the real game.

The infielder went 0-for-2 in MLB The Show against deGrom and 0-for-3 against him in Saturday's contest. He wasn't alone in his struggles, however, as deGrom went eight innings against the Giants, giving up just one run on four hits, a walk and seven strikeouts in the Mets' 5-2 win.

Interestingly, video games and virtual reality are being used by several teams as training tools. The NBA's Washington Wizards, for instance, utilize the STRIVR Labs' virtual reality technology to simulate on-court plays and sets.

It's a technology several NFL teams have also adopted. Some NFL players, such as Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater in his rookie year, have imported their team's playbook into the popular Madden series to better study plays.

As technology for video games and virtual reality improves, its use for athletes as preparation tools continues to grow.