Pirates Pitcher Predicted to Breakout in 2025
Lost in the shuffle of Paul Skenes' historic season, which included winning the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year and being a finalist for the Cy Young Award, was a strong first season by fellow rookie right-hander Jared Jones.
If Jones can build on a solid campaign, the tandem of him and Skenes atop the Pirates' rotation could be one of baseball's best. MLB.com listed a breakout player for every team and Alex Stumpf tabbed Jones as the candidate for Pittsburgh in 2025.
"Jones had a very solid rookie season, striking out 132 batters over 121 2/3 innings, but a handful of ugly starts inflated his ERA to 4.14," Stumpf writes. "Anyone who watched him last year saw his immense potential, and he continued to develop a curveball into a real third pitch as the season progressed. A third pitch would be massive, effectively eliminating those games where he tries to get by with just one offering, which usually doesn’t go well."
It was a tale of two halves for Jones. Before the All-Star Break, the rookie right-hander was 5-6 with a 3.56 ERA across 16 starts and struck out 98 batters over 91 innings pitched. Of his 16 starts, Jones pitched at least six innings and allowed three or fewer runs in nine.
Things took a turn after the All-Star break, as he missed nearly two months due to a strained right lat. Upon returning from the injury, Jones went 1-2 with a 5.87 ERA over 30.2 innings pitched in six starts. Across his six starts, Jones only pitched at least six innings twice.
His effectiveness was also noticeably down. Before the All-Star Break, he held opponents to a .220 batting average, but after he returned from injury in late August, opposing hitters batted 269.
The Pirates' pitching staff has a chance to be one of baseball's best if their young pitchers can continue their upward trajectory. Jones staying healthy and being a breakout player in 2025 would go a long way toward accomplishing that.
