Could Pirates Have Two Cy Young Candidates?
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Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes has already emerged as a household name on the heels of a historic first season that won him the National League Rookie of the Year and finished third in the NL Cy Young vote.
Could another Pirates pitcher cement himself as one of baseball's rising stars next season? Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter listed a breakout candidate for every team and tabbed Jared Jones for Pittsburgh. Along with listing him as a breakout candidate, Reuter believes Jones can have the kind of season that ranks him among the best pitchers in baseball in 2025.
"If you're thinking that Jones is no Paul Skenes, well, you're not wrong," Reuter writes. "But here's a fun fact that you'll know only if you're a total nerd: Per Stuff+, Jones' pitches were better than those of Skenes and all other National League pitchers in 2024. The 97.3 mph fastball is nice, but not quite as nice as Jones' devastating slider. Those things alone have the potential to make him an All-Star this year, and perhaps even a Cy Young Award contender."
It was a tale of two halves for Jones in his rookie season. In the first half, he was 5-6 with a 3.56 ERA in 16 starts and struck out 98 batters over 91 innings pitched. Things took a turn with a strained right lat costing the then-rookie right-hander nearly two months of the season and upon returning, Jones made six starts and went 1-2 while posting a 5.87 ERA.
Overall, Jones was 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA over 22 starts and struck out 132 batters in 121.2 innings pitched.
Jones' stuff is among the most exciting things about his game and why he has the potential to emerge as one of the better pitchers in baseball. His slider was arguably his best pitch, as it had a 37.3 percent whiff rate by Baseball Savant's metrics. With one season under his belt, there's no reason to believe the Pittsburgh right-hander's stuff can't be even better in 2025.
If Jones can stay healthy, becoming an All-Star in his second season isn't far-fetched. And if Jones can pitch up to that level, the tandem of him and Skenes can be one of baseball's best and help the Pirates' chances of reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2015.
