Jared Jones was told on Monday that he’s made the Pittsburgh Pirates Opening Day roster. The club has yet to announce if Jones will be part of its rotation. That’s the expectation for the No. 3 prospect, a hard-throwing right-hander earning a spot by allowing three earned runs during spring training. Jones went on to compile a 15:8 K:BB over 16 1/3 innings. While Jones hasn’t made his big league debut yet, he certainly posses great bat-missing ability that could help the Pirates rotation be competitive.
RHP Jared Jones has made the Pirates’ Opening Day roster. The team’s No. 3 prospect did not allow an earned run over 16 1/3 IP this spring.
— Alex Stumpf (@AlexJStumpf) March 25, 2024
Jared Jones Makes Opening Day Roster
Jared Jones qualifies for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Prospect Performance Incentive. (PPI)
– Can qualify for a Draft Pick if he wins NL Rookie of the Year or Top 3 for MVP or Cy Young
– Made OD roster, so will allow Pirates a 3 year window to earn draft pick as well.
— Kody Duncan (@KodyDuncanPGH) March 25, 2024
Pittsburgh will select the contracts of Jones along with right-handers Hunter Stratton and Ryder Ryan. The Pirates have placed Yasmani Grandal and Ji Hwan Bae on the 10-day injured list to begin the season. Colin Holderman and Carmen Moldzinski will open the season on the 15-day IL. Also making the Pirates roster are multiple pitchers. That includes Bailey Falter, Josh Fleming and Roansy Contreras, along with outfielder Edward Olivares and righty Luis Ortiz.
Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that manager Derek Shelton said Sunday that it was a “very safe assumption” that Jared Triolo will be the Pirates starting second baseman when the season begins Thursday.
Profile on Jones
Jones was the Pirates second-round pick in 2020. His various rankings came from a strong 2023 season where Jones split time between Double-A and Triple-A. He logged 126 1/3 innings of 3.85 ERA ball with a 27.6% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rare. His spring outing was nothing but spectacular, yielding jsut nine hits against eight walks and 15 strikeouts. His innings from last season should set the tone for him to increase that workload. The Pirates may take a cautious approach with him, especially early in the year. Although, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he can surpass 150 innings in his rookie campaign.
Gaining Strength with His Pitches
Keith Law of The Athletic writes that Jones has made strong gains with his pitching arsenal since being drafted.
“As he reached Triple-A last year as a fourth-pitch guy who looks like he’ll at least be a league-average starter, with more room to grow,” Law wrote. “He’s sitting mid-90’s now, touching 100 mph, with a slider that’s gone from a 40 to presently close to a 60, getting into the lows 90s with high spin and some sharp downward break. He throws all four pitches for strikes, with a changeup that’s good enough to keep lefties in check. His stuff did taper off as the season progressed. However, not excessively but enough to mention, and he may need to work on pacing himself in the early part of the eyar through September in the longer big-leagues eason. He’s more polished of Pittsburgh’s upper-level pitching prospects and the most likely to come up and help in the majors this year.”
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