Pirates' Derek Shelton Reveals Next Step For Jared Jones
Before Paul Skenes burst onto the scene with a historic rookie season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Jared Jones began the 2024 season and was off to an impressive start
A strained right lat muscle and the typical wear and tear that comes with a season eventually caught up to Jones, but the rookie right-hander still impressed for a Pirates team that's littered with young pitching. With one season under his belt, Shelton believes Jones isn't too far off from taking the next step and potentially giving Pittsburgh one of baseball's best one-two punches atop its rotation.
"The first month and a half of the season, he was probably one of the best pitchers in the National League," Shelton said at the Winter Meetings. "It's just the consistency. He's [23] years old. [Jones] being able to finish the season, the grind of it, being able to execute his pitches [and having] standard control, I think that's the next step, but that's going to come with reps. That's going to come with time. Again, [he's] a guy we're really excited about. Our pitching group is young. It's exciting, not just the guys in the big leagues but the guys we have in the minor leagues that are coming. The next step is just going to be consistency."
Jones, 23, went 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA over 22 starts and he struck out 132 batters over 121.2 innings pitched in 16 starts. Jones was off to a strong start in his rookie season, going 5-6 with a 3.56 ERA, struck out 98 batters over 91 innings pitched before the All-Star break and held opponents to a .220 batting average.
The Pirates rookie right-hander pitched at least 5 innings and allowed 3 runs or fewer in 14 of his 16 starts in the first half.
A strained right lat cost Jones nearly two months in the second half and limited him to just six starts. Jones struggled to replicate his success before the All-Star break, as he went 1-2 with a 5.87 ERA over 30.2 innings pitched and opposing hitters batted .269 against the rookie right-hander.
Jones flashed the consistency Shelton seeks in the first half of the 2024 season. If he can replicate that in 2025 and maintain it for most of next season, Pittsburgh could have one of the game's most formidable tandems atop their rotation with Skenes and Jones.
