|
JARED JONES, RIGHT HANDED PITCHER
|
| Born: August 14, 2001 Height: 6′ 2″ Weight: 180 Bats: Right Throws: Right Drafted: 2nd Round, 44th Overall, 2020 How Acquired: Draft High School: La Mirada (CA) HS Agent: N/A |
WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE |
| Jones is an exceptional athlete who pitched and played outfield in high school. He has great arm speed that generates a mid- to upper-90s fastball, and he holds the velocity well into outings. He pitches effectively up in the zone, but it has led to some gopher ball trouble so far. He also has a potential plus slider and curve, and a developing change. The slider presently is his best secondary pitch. Jones doesn’t have great size and throws with some effort, so there could be some question going forward about whether he’ll be a starter. The Pirates, though, are trying to develop him that way and his athleticism gives him a good chance of remaining a starter. Baseball America rated him 41st among draft prospects, which is exactly where the Pirates selected him. He had a commitment to Texas, but signed for well above the slot amount of $1,689,500.
2020 2021 The Pirates held Jones back until late May, then he went to Bradenton. He showed electric stuff, as the K rate implies. His fastball at times sat at 96-97 mph. He had stretches where he was nearly unhittable, such as one four-inning start in which he fanned 11. Jones also had stretches when his command faltered and he walked too many. For some reason, he was much tougher against left-handed batters, holding them to a .570 OPS, compared to .856 for right-handed batters. He also pitched better at home than on the road, even though many of the team’s hitters hit much better at home. 2022 Jones had an uneven season. On the plus side, he made 26 starts and nearly doubled his innings total from the previous year. His K rate was very good and he cut the walks back to a reasonable level. On the negative side, he got hit a little harder than you’d hope for a guy with his stuff. Opponents slugged .413 against him in a league where the average was .391. He also gave up 19 home runs. Jones is still a work in progress, but there’s no question about him having a high ceiling. |
|
CONTRACT INFORMATION
|
| 2023: Minor league contract |
|
PLAYER INFORMATION
|
| Signing Bonus: $2,200,000 MiLB Debut: 2021 MLB Debut: MiLB FA Eligible: 2026 MLB FA Eligible: Rule 5 Eligible: 2024 Added to 40-Man: Options Remaining: 3 MLB Service Time: 0.000 |
|
TRANSACTIONS
|
| June 11, 2020: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2nd round, 44th overall pick; signed on July 2. |
