Pirates Giving Glimpse At Potential Everyday Lineup vs. Braves
As the Pittsburgh Pirates begin to put the pieces together, they're set to roll out a lineup that could see a bulk of the action to start the 2025 season.
Pirates right-hander Jared Jones draws the start for Pittsburgh against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday at 1:05 p.m. ET at LECOM Park in Bradenton, FL. Behind him will be a host of players who figure to play a significant role for the Pirates this season, including newly-signed outfielder Tommy Pham in the leadoff spot and Adam Frazier getting the start at first base. Here are the lineups for the Pirates and the Braves, who have a split squad with the other half of their team facing the Boston Red Sox.
Pittsburgh Pirates:
LF Tommy Pham
RF Bryan Reynolds
CF Oneil Cruz
C Joey Bart
DH Ke'Bryan Hayes
2B Nick Gonzales
1B Adam Frazier
SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa
3B Jared Triolo
SP Jared Jones
Home vs. the Braves.
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) February 25, 2025
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Braves:
CF Eli White
3B Nacho Alvarez
RF Bryan De La Cruz
1B Garrett Cooper
SS Orlando Arcia
C Curt Casali
DH Jake Marisnick
LF Luke Williams
2B Jose Devers
SP Spencer Schwellenbach
Pham, 36, in the leadoff spot will bear watching. The veteran outfielder boasts the most experience having accumulated 1,046 at-bats from the leadoff spot and posting a .248/.329/.402 slash line with 30 home runs and 91 RBIs across 237 games. With the Pirates' top hitters, Reynolds and Cruz following Pham, his or anyone's ability to get on base ahead of them will be paramount to Pittsburgh's success on offense.
Frazier getting the start at first base also catches the eye. With Spencer Horwitz out for the foreseeable future, Pittsburgh will be tasked with finding someone who can fill that void until he returns. The veteran left-handed hitter could be part of the solution with a strong Spring Training.
On a Pirates team that's littered with talented starting pitchers, Jones may be the most intriguing of the bunch. The hard-throwing 23-year-old right-hander is looking to build off of a promising rookie season in which he went 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA across 22 starts, though a rough second half that included missing nearly two months because of a strained right lat hurt his numbers.
Before the All-Star break, Jones went 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. He also pitched at least 5 innings and allowed 3 runs or fewer in 14 of his 16 starts in the first half.
If Jones can take the next step in his development, the Pirates could have one of baseball's most formidable tandems atop their rotation with Jones and Paul Skenes.
