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Jared Jones and Paul Skenes and Bubba Chandler, Oh My

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Jared Jones, Paul Skenes, and Bubba Chandler all took the mound on Friday night, giving the Pittsburgh Pirates three top 100 prospects in action.

I’ve written about all three pitchers recently for Pirates Prospects supporters on Patreon: Skenes | Jones | Chandler

Below is a recap of how each pitcher handled their latest outing.

Jared Jones: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 2 HR

Jones had another impressive outing, allowing two runs in six innings, with no walks and seven strikeouts. He sat 96.9 MPH with his fastball, hitting as high as 99.5 MPH and generating 11 whiffs with the pitch on 26 swings. He generated 21 whiffs on the day, giving him 43 in his first two starts.

What I liked about Jones this time around was that he had some hard hits against him, but he never let things get out of control.

In the second inning, Jones gave up a solo homer. The very next pitch was a 98.6 MPH fastball in the upper inside corner to lefty Cedric Mullins, for one of the swinging strikes. A lot of young pitchers might get thrown off their game for a bit from the homer. Jones threw a perfectly executed pitch that was unhitable. He ended up getting through the second without another run scored.

Jones gave up another homer in the third inning, but responded with a groundout and two strikeouts, needing just 11 pitches after the home run. He gave up a leadoff triple in the fourth. Jones had the task of stranding the runner at third, and he handled it with a ground out, an infield pop out, and a strikeout on three pitches, with two whiffs on the fastball.

In the sixth inning, Jones gave up a leadoff double. Ryan Borucki was warming up in the bullpen, with a few lefties due up. Jones didn’t need Borucki, getting an infield pop out, a strikeout, and the final out on a liner to right field.

There were some hard hit balls against Jones, but he was mostly blowing it by opposing hitters, and he buckled down in big moments to limit any damage to the two solo homers.

Paul Skenes: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K

Skenes made his second start of the year, and once again was limited to three innings. He didn’t allow a run, but did allow a walk and a hit this time around. He also struck out six batters and had nine whiffs on the day in 44 pitches.

Skenes struck out the side in the first inning, getting the strikeouts on swinging strikes against 100.7, 100.0, and 100.2 MPH fastballs. Despite the walk and the hit in the second, he didn’t allow a run and struck out two — a 100.4 MPH called strike and a 99.7 MPH swinging strike. Skenes retired the side in order in the third, finishing on a 100.5 MPH fastball looking for his sixth strikeout.

After his outing, Skenes threw extra pitches in the bullpen. This is interesting, as it mirrors what a rehab pitcher would do, when they’re under very restricted inning and pitch counts.

In total, he averaged 99.9 MPH with his fastball, topping out at 101.3, and hitting triple digits 13 times. His fastball led to eight of his nine whiffs, with one more on his splinker, which averaged 95.4 MPH. Skenes was sitting 86.6 MPH with his slider, and 84.3 MPH with his curveball.

Bubba Chandler: 3.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Jones and Skenes are MLB-quality pitchers right now. Chandler is a top 100 prospect, but at least a year behind the other two starters.

Chandler put two on in the first inning, before getting a swinging strikeout on a high fastball to end the inning. He wasn’t as lucky in the second. After giving up a single, he struck out the next two batters. A walk and a double, both with two outs, led to his two runs allowed. Chandler got out of the inning with a ground out.

After a single to lead off the third inning, Chandler got three quick outs, including picking off the runner at first. He struck out the first batter he faced in the fourth inning, before being removed with 60 pitches, 36 of them for strikes.

There were a few times that Chandler looked visibly frustrated as the umpire squeezed him on some close calls. Abrahan Gutierrez did a good job behind the plate to keep him calm, and Chandler did well to not allow things to get out of hand.

PIRATES LOSE 5-2

Despite the start from Jones, the Pirates lost 5-2. The bullpen gave up three runs, with Ryan Borucki getting tagged for two, and Hunter Stratton adding one. Roansy Contreras pitched a scoreless ninth inning, allowing one hit with one strikeout.

The offense was quiet, outside of a pair of solo home runs. Oneil Cruz launched a 377 foot homer in the fifth inning, cutting the score to 2-1 at the time. Jared Triolo hit a solo homer in the seventh, at 104.5 MPH, but that came after the Orioles added two more runs.

Cruz picked up three hits on the day, while Ke’Bryan Hayes picked up two. The homer from Triolo was the only other hit. Hayes and Triolo had the only walks on a quiet day for most of the offense.

ROSTER MOVES

Carmen Mlodzinski started a rehab assignment with the Bradenton Marauders.

PROSPECT WATCH

Indianapolis won 8-3.

  • After Skenes finished his outing, LHP Eric Lauer came on to pitch four shutout innings, allowing one hit and striking out four.
  • Colin Holderman made another rehab appearance, pitching a scoreless inning with one hit allowed.
  • Liover Peguero went 5-for-5 at the plate with a double, two runs, and three RBIs.
  • Jake Lamb hit a three run homer in the first inning, his second of the year, on a two hit night.
  • Nick Gonzales picked up a walk and a hit, and has at least one hit in all six games so far this year.

Altoona won 4-3 in 10 innings.

  • Justin Meis pitched three shutout innings in relief. Meis allowed a walk and a hit, while striking out three.
  • Jackson Glenn picked up two hits, including a double in the ninth. He moved to third on a balk, and scored the tying run on a wild pitch.
  • Matt Fraizer had two hits, including the go ahead RBI single in the top of the 10th. Fraizer also hit a double and stole a base.
  • Abrahan Gutierrez went 1-for-4.

Greensboro lost 5-3 in 10 innings.

  • LHP Hunter Barco, taken in the second round in 2022, pitched three shutout innings. He didn’t allow a hit, walked two, and struck out six. Barco had only pitched 18.1 innings prior to this start, after returning from Tommy John last year. He’s a talented pitcher, but seems like he will be restricted early in the season.
  • Jack Brannigan was batting leadoff, playing third base. He went 1-for-3 with two walks.
  • Termarr Johnson went 1-for-5 as the second baseman.
  • Mitch Jebb, last year’s second round pick and tonight’s shortstop, went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base.
  • Charles McAdoo went 2-for-2 with a walk. The 13th rounder from last year was tonight’s DH.

Bradenton lost 5-2.

  • Carlson Reed, a right-hander taken in the fourth round last year, pitched four shutout innings. Reed allowed two hits, two walks, and struck out six. His sinker averaged 92.5, touching 95.4. His four-seam was around 93-94 MPH. He also threw a slider (82.2 average), changeup (83.4) and a sweeper (81.6). Reed picked up seven whiffs on 20 swings for a 35% whiff rate, with two each on his sinker, slider, and changeup.
  • Carmen Mlodzinski pitched an inning, allowing a run on two hits, with three strikeouts.
  • Outfielder Shalin Polanco picked up two hits, including a double.
  • Jesus Castillo, who had 39 stolen bases last year, picked up two in his first game of the season, going 1-for-4 with a walk.
  • Garret Forrester, taken in the third round last year, went 0-for-2 with three walks and a stolen base.

STATCAST HEROES

Jones threw six pitches at 99.0 MPH or harder. STATS

Last time out, there was some concern that Skenes was going up against a heavy swing and miss club. The fact that he was the only Indianapolis pitcher getting heavy swing and miss on Friday is encouraging. STATS

Antwone Kelly gave up some runs in relief for Bradenton, but had eight whiffs, mostly from a four-seam/sinker combo that got up to 96-97. STATS

DAILY VIDEO RUNDOWN

Here is a look at Jared Jones picking up his seven strikeouts.

Oneil Cruz with a blast.

Jared Triolo with an even bigger blast.

https://twitter.com/Pirates/status/1776371636037382203

Paul Skenes picked up six strikeouts in three innings.

Jake Lamb hit a three run shot in the first inning to put Indianapolis on the board.

One of the five hits on the night from Liover Peguero.

https://twitter.com/indyindians/status/1776406092714582129

Bubba Chandler picking up his first strikeout…

And Bubba Chandler picking up his final strikeout…

Here’s a look at Hunter Barco, who picked up six strikeouts.

Esmerlyn Valdez threw out a runner at third from right field in Bradenton.

TODAY: PIRATES (6-2) VS ORIOLES (5-2)

Game Time: 4:05 PM EDT
Watch: SportsNet-PIT
Listen: KDKA-FM 93.7

Pirates Starter: Bailey Falter, LHP (0-0, 13.50)
Orioles Starter: Tyler Wells, RHP (0-1, 4.50)

In the Minors…

  • RHP Quinn Priester takes the mound for Indianapolis at 5:05 PM EST in game one of a double header.
  • RHP Sean Sullivan pitches for Altoona at 6:05 PM.
  • No starter has been announced for Greensboro at 6:30 PM.
  • LHP Michael Kennedy will start for Bradenton at 6:30 PM.

PIRATES PROSPECTS DAILY

With the start of minor league baseball, I focused on two players to follow at every level of the Pirates’ system.

Williams: Two Prospects to Follow At Every Level of the Pirates Minor League System

Subscribe to Pirates Prospects Daily below for free, and get these Pittsburgh Pirates updates delivered to your inbox.

THIS WEEK ON PIRATES PROSPECTS

**2024 Pittsburgh Pirates Top 50 Tiered Rankings Version 1.0

The top 50 prospects in the Pittsburgh Pirates system, plus a few more, separated into tiered rankings to give you an idea of who could be starters and who could be depth.

**Indianapolis Will Provide Paul Skenes and Depth For the Pirates in 2024

Paul Skenes leads a group of prospects in Triple-A who will provide the Pirates with depth throughout the 2024 season.

**Altoona Features the Best Prospect Group in the Pirates System in 2024

The best prospect group, from the start of the year through the end of the year, will be found in Altoona.

**Greensboro is Loaded With Hitting Talent At the Start of the 2024 Season

The hitters at the top of the Greensboro prospect group will have fun hitting in that home park with zero outfield space.

**Bradenton Has One of The Best Upside Prospect Groups in Years

There’s a group of high upside players making their way to full-season ball, and it could be one of the best Single-A groups in years for the Pirates.

**Five Players in Rookie Ball Who You Should Watch in the Pirates System

Five players in rookie ball who stand out as some of the most promising options in the entire Pirates system.

SONG OF THE DAY

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Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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