Jared Jones DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

After breaking into the big leagues last year, Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Jared Jones is adding a two-seam fastball heading into his sophomore season, according to manager Derek Shelton. Jones' four-seamer averages 17.1 inches of vertical break, but his two-seamer would move in the opposite direction. The 23-year-old has been experimenting with the new pitch in live batting practice sessions and should debut it in a spring game soon. Jones leaned on his four-seamer (43.3%) and slider (34.8%) in 2024 while throwing his curve (9.3%) and changeup (6.6%) sparingly. He began to use his curve more late in the year. It generated plenty of whiffs (32.7%) but also a lot of hard contact. A more effective third offering could make Jones more consistent and help him keep the ball in the yard more often. RotoBaller has the young arm ranked at No. 39 among starting pitchers entering the 2025 season.

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jared Jones was on his game Sunday, allowing two runs over seven frames in a 7-3 win over the Washington Nationals. Jones allowed four hits and walked none while striking out nine in what was his best start since coming back from the IL in late August. The 23-year-old rookie looks to be a stud in the future and should be drafted fairly highly next year given his sky-high upside. Jones should be started in most leagues next week with a middle-of-the-road matchup on tap against the Kansas City Royals.

Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed rookie Jared Jones (lat) will come off the 15-day injured and start on Tuesday versus the division-rival Chicago Cubs at PNC Park. Jones will make his return to the team's starting rotation for the stretch run for the first time since suffering a Grade 2 right-lat strain in early July. The Pirates weren't in a rush to bring the 23-year-old back to the majors so that they could limit his innings in his first big-league season. But now that Jones is back in the fold, he should be immediately thrown back into starting fantasy lineups in a good matchup against Chicago. Jones made three minor-league rehab starts with Triple-A Indianapolis and struck out 10 over five shutout innings his last time out while getting up to 73 pitches. In 16 MLB starts earlier this year, he went 5-6 with a 3.56 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 98 punchouts in 91 innings of work.