Around the Curve | Jared Jones in Control in Debut Campaign

CURVE, Pa. – When Jared Jones arrived at Double-A Altoona for the first-time in 2023, high expectations were set. The Pirates second round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft was just 21-years old at the time and his elite command was already well-documented.

But this advanced control of the baseball was not always the case for Jones.

“Growing up, I was always a hitter first and pitcher second, because I had no idea where the ball was going,” said Jones last season while in Altoona.

Flash forward to today and this couldn’t be further from the case.

In his fourth professional start against the New York Mets on April 16, Jones threw five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and one hit allowed. He tossed 59 pitches in the start, with 50 going for strikes (an 84.7% strike rate).

Since detailed pitch data began being tracked in 2000, no Major Leaguer has ever thrown 60 or fewer pitches in a game and thrown 50 or more strikes. Only five pitchers since 2000 have thrown 50 or more pitches in a game with at least 84% being strikes:

05/30/2021 Kevin Gausman 62 of 72 86.1%

08/16/2016 Carlos Villanueva 54 of 64 84.4%

07/10/2013 Cliff Lee 64 of 76 84.2%

07/08/2012 Bartolo Colon 79 of 93 84.9%

05/25/2001 Ryan Franklin 43 of 51 84.3%

Many of those strikes have come on the swing-and-miss. Through his four appearances with the Pirates, Jones has induced 73 swing-and-misses, the most by a Major League pitcher in his first four career starts in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008).

Jones displayed elite stuff last season with a dominant fastball and two blistering breaking balls with the Curve. The fastball has accounted for 47% of his pitches this year, with his sharp slider being the top secondary option at 41%. 29 of his 32 strikeouts have come off these two pitches.

Jones’s fastball is one that lights up the radar gun, averaging 97.1 mph this season in Pittsburgh. Velocity is something that has always been a weapon in the arsenal for Jones, who first touched 95 mph as a sophomore at La Mirada High School in California.

His other two offerings, the curveball and changeup, have been used a combined 12% of the time. The changeup was a pitch that Jones was the most focused on last season in Altoona, trying to master it as a fourth option, an important box to check in his development as a starter.

“My changeup has been horrible, up until this year,” Jones said last season in Altoona. When asked what helped him gain confidence in the pitch, Jones said “Throwing it like I’ve thrown a baseball everyday and not trying to overthink it (has helped).”

The accolades have continued to pile up for Jones. He has recorded at least seven strikeouts in each of his first four starts of his career, becoming just the fourth Major League pitcher to do so since 1893 (when the current mound distance was set,) joining Masahiro Tanaka, Stephen Strasberg, and Jose DeLeon.

Jones allowed two runs or fewer in each of his 10 starts with Altoona last season and has led all Pirates minor leaguers in strikeouts in each of his last two seasons. Now, his sights are set on leading the Major League roster in the category; through four starts, he is second in the Major Leagues in strikeouts with 32, behind former Altoona Curve starter Tyler Glasnow (34).

Jones also has an active 17.1-inning streak without issuing a walk, which goes back to the final inning of his Major League debut on March 30 at Miami. This is the longest streak by a Pirates pitcher in his first four career games since Altoona Curve alum Gerrit Cole and an 18.0-inning streak to open his career in 2013.

In a farm system loaded with pitching talent such as Paul Skenes, Quinn Priester, Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler, and Anthony Solometo, it was Jones who forced his way onto the Major League roster this spring, and through four starts, he’s proven that it was the right decision.

Sure, the sample size is small, but it’s as impressive as any debut the Pirates have seen in recent years. Jones will look to continue to pound the zone with his best pitches, a lesson that resonated with him last year with the Curve.

“Double-A hitters are good, and they don’t chase as often so you want to be in the strike zone,” Jones said. “If I can keep myself ahead in a lot of counts, that’s where I find more success.”