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.

Pittsburgh Pirates rookie right-hander Jared Jones (lat) was impressive in his latest minor-league rehab start for Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday, tossing five shutout innings while giving up only one hit, walking one and striking out 10. Jones looked to be in midseason form, especially with his fastball, which topped out near 100 mph. The 23-year-old is fully expected to come off the 15-day injured list to make his next start in the big leagues after this impressive performance. Jones hasn't pitched in the big leagues since July 3, and the Pirates weren't in any rush to bring him back, especially after a rough recent stretch that has really hurt their chances of getting into the postseason. Although Jones won't have much time to make a difference for fantasy managers to close out his rookie year, he shouldn't be ignored in mixed leagues after fanning 26.4% of the batters he faced in his first 16 MLB starts earlier this year.

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jared Jones (lat) made another minor-league rehab start with Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday, giving up four runs on seven hits and a walk with three strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings of work. The results in the box score were not pretty, but Jones' velocity looks to be back up to normal. The Pirates could opt to have him make one more appearance in the minors to sharpen things up, but he did throw 67 pitches in Thursday's outing, meaning he could be ready to rejoin Pittsburgh's rotation early next week. Working his way back from a Grade 2 right lat strain, the 22-year-old rookie right-hander owns a promising 3.56 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with 98 strikeouts and 27 walks through 91 innings (16 starts) this season. There's no reason for him to be on waiver wires in any fantasy leagues.