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P2Daily: Jared Jones is Looking Like a Rookie of the Year Contender

P2Daily

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Reading time: 6 min.

The Pirates lost 3-1 to the Mets on Tuesday, overshadowing a truly fantastic start from rookie pitcher Jared Jones.

Jones was on a restricted pitch count, throwing five shutout frames with no walks, one hit, and seven strikeouts. He filled up the strike zone, getting 50 strikes on 59 total pitches. He left with a 1-0 lead, and Luis Ortiz brought in to go multiple innings. Ortiz allowed three runs in his second frame, with two scoring off Jose Hernandez.

The decision to sit Jones with so few pitches will be controversial, due to the proceeding loss. Jones pitched 126 innings last year, so he’s likely to be limited throughout this season. That’s tough when he’s been pitching so well. After Tuesday’s start, Jones has a 3.13 ERA and a 32:2 K/BB ratio in 23 innings.

Tuesday’s start saw Jones hit 98+ MPH on 11 pitches, with four that went 99 MPH, including a top velocity of 99.7. For his second straight start, Jones picked up 15 whiffs. Seven of those were on the fastball, which averaged 97.7 MPH. Seven whiffs came from the slider on 13 swings across 22 pitches. He also picked up a whiff on the changeup. Jones had ten called strikes, including one on a curveball.

Jones mostly works off the fastball/slider combo, but that’s all he really needs. The Mets aren’t a top offense, but they don’t strike out much. Entering tonight’s game, they ranked third in the majors with an 18.4% strikeout rate. Jones carved up their lineup with those two plus pitches.

Entering tonight’s game, Jones was getting a swinging strike on 25% of sliders thrown, and 16.4% of fastballs thrown. The slider is looking like a truly elite pitch, generating a 45.6% chase rate, but only a 19.2% contact rate on chase swings, and a 35 inch average vertical break.

It’s early, which means the Pirates are right to be cautious with the innings from Jones. At this point, he is looking like a serious Rookie of the Year contender.

STATCAST HEROES

Edward Olivares has hit three balls at 108 MPH or harder in the last week. All three have gone for outs. STATS

The minor league Statcast Heroes can be found in the nightly Pirates Prospect Watch.

DAILY VIDEO RUNDOWN

Here’s a look at the stuff from Jared Jones.

Oneil Cruz showed off the glove behind Jones in the second inning.

Jared Triolo added more defense in the fifth inning.

 

The defense continued in Triple-A, with Liover Peguero calling an audible on this double play.

Gilberto Celestino got in on the action, making a running leaping catch against the wall.

Nick Gonzales picked up three hits, including this triple to right field.

Ji Hwan Bae went 2-for-4 with an RBI double.

Tsung-Che Cheng homered for the first time this season.

Jase Bowen picks up an RBI single.

Hudson Head homered for the third time this season in Greensboro.

Shalin Polanco doubles for Bradenton, on a ball with a 100 MPH exit velocity.

PROSPECT WATCH

The nightly Pirates Prospect Watch is now its own article. I’ll be doing the weekly recap every Monday, as there are no games played. The daily Prospect Watch will look at one player who stands out that day, along with the recaps you’d normally see in this article.

Tsung-Che Cheng went 3-for-3 with a home run, and now has a .500 OBP in 32 plate appearances. Read more about his night and all of the other top performers.

ROSTER MOVES

  • Yasmani Grandal began his rehab assignment with Indianapolis, going 0-for-2.
  • Ji Hwan Bae was optioned to Indianapolis, where he was already playing on a rehab assignment.
  • Joe Perez was sent from Indianapolis to Altoona.

TODAY: PIRATES (11-5) AT METS (6-8)

Game Time: 1:10 PM EDT
Watch: SportsNet-PIT
Listen: KDKA-FM 93.7

Pirates Starter: Bailey Falter, LHP (1-0, 4.20)
Mets Starter: Luis Severino, RHP (1-1, 3.00)

In the Minors…

  • Indianapolis sends LHP Cam Alldred to the mound at 12:05 PM EST.
  • Altoona has an earlier game, with LHP Nick Dombkowski on the mound at 11:05 AM.
  • Greensboro goes slightly earlier, sending LHP Hunter Barco to the hill at 11:00 AM. I wrote about Barco today, after he’s thrown seven shutout innings in his first two starts.
  • Bradenton rounds out the morning games with RHP Hung-Leng Cheng on the mound at 11:00 AM.

PIRATES PROSPECTS DAILY

Tuesday is the premium article drop day at Pirates Prospects. Every Tuesday at noon, I release six new articles for Patreon subscribers. Check out the links in the section below.

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

THIS WEEK ON PIRATES PROSPECTS

The premium article drop each week features the best articles on the site. These are the ones that take the most time and work, but also the topics which occupy the most head space in my brain. In most weeks, there is a reporting aspect. This week’s articles featured more scouting, stats, and a bit of speculation.

In my premium column for Patreon subscribers, I looked at the cautious approach the Pirates are taking with Paul Skenes. I agree with the approach, but broke down how it could have limits that would call for him being up before the Super Two dates pass.

**Williams: The Pirates Should Be Taking a Cautious Approach With Paul Skenes

I wrote two articles this week looking at depth options who stand out to me in Triple-A.

Nick Gonzales was taken seventh overall in the 2020 draft. He’s dealt with swing and miss issues, which have kept him in Triple-A. In the early part of the season, he’s showing positive overall improvements with his strikeout rates, while still having some underlying concerns about swing and miss.

**Examining the Swing and Miss of Nick Gonzales

Malcom Nunez is a stocky corner infield prospect who can play third, but has the power for first base. After hitting three home runs to start the season, I looked deeper at the power bat of Nunez, and his brief history in Triple-A already as a 23-year-old prospect.

**Malcom Nunez Brings Plus Power Bat to Indianapolis

This week I also highlighted three lower level pitchers who have stood out to me in early looks as potential MLB starters.

The Pirates drafted Hunter Barco in the second round of the 2022 draft, while the lefty from Florida was out with Tommy John. Now fully recovered, Barco is pitching in Greensboro, and has thrown seven shutout frames in his first two starts of the season, with an advanced mix of pitches.

**Hunter Barco is Showing Why the Pirates Invested in Him

Alessandro Ercolani is a 19-year-old pitcher from the small country of San Marino, with a mix of six pitches that all show promise. The Pirates gave him the assignment of pitching in High-A Greensboro, which he embraced with four shutout innings in his debut.

**Alessandro Ercolani is a Big Talent From a Small Country

Patrick Reilly was drafted as a reliever out of Vanderbilt last season, but with a mid-90s fastball that gets up to 98, and a plus slider, it’s easy to see why the Pirates are giving him a shot in the rotation. He’s showing promising control results in the early games, reversing the issue that has held him back the most.

**Patrick Reilly Features An Elite Fastball, With Early Positive Results in Control

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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