May 29, 2026: Pirates manager Don Kelly knew Jared Jones would be emotional. The often fiery starting pitcher delivered some added juice with blazing fastballs in his first start in 20 months.

Jones struck out six while allowing seven hits and five runs through 4 1/3 innings in the 6-5 walk-off win in the series opener against the Twins at PNC Park -- his first start since Sept. 27, 2024, as he returned from surgery to repair his right UCL.

“Kind of just a mixed pile of everything,” Jones said. “Thought I threw some good pitches. Thought I threw some pretty bad ones. First one back in over 600 days or whatever it is, so I'll figure it out soon.”

Jones’ first nine fastballs were all clocked at 100 mph or higher, and he maxed out at 101.5 overall. Kelly joked that it was "safe to say" Jones was fired up for his return.But on Jones' seventh heater, center fielder Kody Clemens turned around a 100.1 mph fastball for a solo home run. The pitch was the fastest anyone has homered off of in baseball this season. The long ball also spoiled an emotional moment out of the gate.“The homer came too quick to soak anything in,” Jones said. “But yeah, it was really cool being back out there, being on the team. Just super grateful to be here.” Kelly said pregame Jones would go five innings if everything went well, adding that he definitely wouldn't get to 100 pitches. Postgame, Kelly admitted that the Pirates wanted to hold Jones around 75-80 pitches, or five innings, whichever came first. In the second inning, Jones was already being pushed to his limit. He allowed a single and walked two batters to load the bases with no outs.

Jones then struck out Luke Keaschall before allowing a two-run single to No. 9 hitter Tristan Gray. The next batter, Byron Buxton, grounded into a double play to end the frame.

Jones found a bit of a groove before Trevor Larnach sent a 98 mph fastball out of the stadium and into the Allegheny River on a bounce, which gave Minnesota a 5-3 lead in the third. Jones then struck out three of his final four batters before exiting with 77 pitches and a runner on first. Left-hander Evan Sisk closed Jones’ line without any more damage. (A Stepansky - MLB.com - May 29, 2026)   

Jones is on a mission to be the best, something he and his high school coach, Jimmy Zurn, have spoken about.

“He’s going to put in his time,” Zurn said. “He wants to be considered one of the greats of all time. We’ve had that conversation.”

Jared has the work ethic that separates him from others. Whether it be his work lifting weights, practicing outfield throws or getting in extra batting practice, Jones is doing whatever it takes on his mission to be the best.

“He’s one of those kids that, you see them every now and then,” Zurn said in 2019. “Most of them you’ll see them out there, they have a self-drive. He’s obviously one of the greatest players I’ve ever witnessed at this age level and you know we’ve had some good ones come through La Mirada. But he just does the extra.”

Jones committed to the Univ. of Texas before his senior season at La Mirada High School in California.

Jones has been on radars for quite some time now as a two-way standout, starring for his La Mirada High School team at the 2019 National High School Invitational and countless showcase events like the PDP League this past summer.

While his father, Keith, spent two summers as an infielder in the D-backs system, Jared's future is definitely on the mound.

Jared's mother  played collegiate softball. And his cousins, Randy and Ron Flores both pitched in the majors.

June 2020: The Pirates chose Jones in the second round, out of La Mirada High School in California. The Pirates gave Jones a bonus of $2.2 million, well over the assigned slot value of $1,689,500. He signed with scout Brian Tracy.

The 18-year-old Texas commit, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Draft’s 55th-best prospect, was a two-way standout in high school, batting .457 while putting together a 0.77 ERA during his junior season. His elite arm strength should give him a chance to thrive on the mound at the next level.

Jones’ fastball has been clocked up to 96-97 mph, and he throws a solid slider that can be a swing-and-miss pitch. He doesn’t use his changeup much now, but he should be able to develop it into a third offering to round out his arsenal. And if you want an idea of just how strong his right arm is, consider that one of his throws from the outfield lit up radar guns at 100 mph last year.

Jones, listed at 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, was a regular on the showcase circuit leading up to the Draft. Inconsistent command is one of the knocks against him, but that’s not uncommon for a high-upside high school power pitcher. The game runs in his family, too, as his father spent two years as an infielder in the D-backs system and his mother played softball in college.

Jones was also a threat at the plate as a left-handed-hitting outfielder, but don’t expect to see him join the Pirates as a two-way player. Jones was representative of one trend in this abbreviated Draft, however, as the Pirates went heavy on pitchers who previously played in the field.

“Not a particular demographic we were pursuing, the position-player-to-pitcher demographic. Just ended up being the best players on the board when it came around to our picks,” Cherington said. “Quite a few of them had played a position or still do, in the case of Jones.” (A Berry - MLB.com - June 12, 2020)

In 2021, the Baseball America Prospect Handbook rated Jared as the 12th-best prospect in the Pirates organization. He moved up to #9 in the winter before 2022 spring training. And he was at #11 early in 2023. In 2024, Jared was at #3.

March 25, 2024:  Derek Shelton said the Pirates’ focus when building a rotation was making sure bringing “the best club north is gonna be important to us.”

After watching Jared Jones pitch this spring, it’s fairly irrefutable that the team’s No. 3 prospect was one of their five best starting pitchers. Regardless, Shelton did mess with Jones a bit before telling him the news that he had made the Opening Day roster.

“They started the meeting with ‘I had thrown 120 innings the past couple years and they want to do right by me and not extend me too much,’” Jones said. “I was like, ‘Rip the band-aid off, tell me I’m going to Triple-A,’ but I looked over to Shelton and he goes, ‘Congrats, man.’

“I’m like, ‘what?’ He said, ‘You’re coming to Miami with us.’”

March 2024: Jones wowed this spring, not allowing an earned run over 16 innings and striking out 15, firing triple-digit heat and high-spin breaking balls.

“Just like all of you saw, he performed really well in Spring Training,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “More than the surface performance, though, continued progress in the work he was doing between starts, coming into the game, in terms of execution, usage of all of his pitches. Obviously we know the competitor. Believe in him, and believe he makes our team better by being on it to start the season.”

Jones’ first Major League start will be game three against the Marlins.  Jones was a second-round pick in 2020 and currently ranks as the No. 62 prospect in the game, according to MLB Pipeline. He went 5-9 with a 3.85 ERA last season over 26 games split between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis.

While he still has plenty of room to grow as a player, he felt he showed growth this spring by coming through in higher leverage situations.

“I’m a competitor, man,” Jones said. “That’s just who I am on the mound. I’m the fiery little guy. That’s what I like to call myself.”

His teammates and his pitching coach, Oscar Marin, saw that fire. More importantly, they saw him be able to channel it. Henry Davis jokes that Jones is the easiest mound visit because he just needs to get him angry to get him back on track.

"It's the F-you attitude,” Marin said. “That's what makes him so good. There's no hesitation to come at you with his stuff."

Jones tried to downplay what exactly making the Pirates’ Opening Day roster would mean to him this spring, but now that he has made the team, an emotional and visibly relieved Jones could finally open up about it. “It means everything,” Jones said. “I had tears in my eyes the whole day. I’m tearing up right now about it. It’s awesome. I love it.” (A Stumpf - MLB.com - March 25, 2024)

MLB debut (March 30, 2024): The right-hander was more than impressive, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks, striking out 10 in 5.2 innings. He became the first Pirate to record at least 10 strikeouts in his MLB debut since Tim Wakefield in 1992.

May 4, 2024: Considering how Jared has burst onto the scene in 2024, just about everyone who has watched him has had that eye-opening moment when they realized how special the rookie right-hander is. Sure, you could check the box score or see how he’s holding his own against some of the best rookies in the Senior Circuit, but it is almost one of those cases where you need to see it to believe it.

For Derek Shelton, that moment was a Spring Training game he didn’t even manage. It was a split-squad day, and Jones was on the road taking on the Braves in North Port, Fla. The Braves didn’t let up with their lineup, playing most of their starters, but Jones’ fastball played and he tossed a scoreless outing. “With that one, against that lineup, that was like, ‘Whoa, this is a little bit different,’” Shelton said.

Needless to say, that fastball has played very well at the Major League level.  He’s recorded a .200 batting average against and a 34.1% whiff rate with his four-seamer, the latter of which is the third-best rate of any pitcher with at least 50 at-bats ending with that pitch. Going by run value, the only Pirate pitches that have been more valuable are Bailey Falter’s four-seamer, Martín Pérez’s sinker and Jones’ slider.

It’s always been a promising pitch, flashing high-90s velocity ever since he was in high school. The difference is he’s getting more movement on it this year, and he can thank a fellow Pirate prospect for that. Jones has not been teammates with Thomas Harrington yet; Harrington, the Pirates’ No. 6 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, was drafted in 2022. But the two quickly bonded over online gaming and Fortnite. They became fast friends and spent plenty of time together in Bradenton, Fla., over the winter, where they started to pick each other’s brains on pitching. Jones knew how much ride Harrington got on his fastball, and he wanted to know how. 

“I just threw [with] my fingers close together,” Jones said. “Obviously I threw hard, but it wasn’t ridiculously ripped vertically.”

Those talks led to a change in how he held the ball, grabbing it a bit more like a splitter with a wider grip. When he first started to throw it in those early bullpen sessions in January, he knew he was going to move forward with the changed grip.

With Triple-A Indianapolis last year, Jones averaged 16 inches of vertical movement without factoring in gravity. This year, he is averaging 18 inches of vertical movement, and he started to max out at 21 inches of movement even back in January.

“All right, this’ll play,” Jones thought to himself that first bullpen session. Going by Baseball Savant’s data, Jones now gets 2.1 more inches of vertical ride compared to the average four-seam fastball. His fastball was never flat, but it’s now a plus pitch for more reasons than just its velocity and spin.

“I think he is weaponizing it right now, just in terms of the location that he’s throwing his fastball,” Shelton said. “When you have the ability to execute at that high of a velocity, it’s definitely a weapon. I think we’re starting to see him use [it] in different parts of the at-bat, too, which is cool to see.” Shelton didn’t offer specifics for what’s different, but Jones opted to throw his fastball at least 50% of the time in two-strike counts in two of his last three outings. His put-away percentage -- or the rate of two-strike pitches that result in a strikeout -- with the four-seamer is 27.9%, the fifth-best among pitchers in the Major Leagues (min. 50 PA).

With that spin and the illusion of rise, that fastball generally plays best up in the zone, either as a whiff pitch or an offering to set up his slider. He’ll mix in his curveball and changeup too, but those offerings are his real bread and butter.

And he’s going to keep attacking with that new fastball.

“I think it’s the same thing: Just throwing it in the zone and daring them to hit it,” Jones said. “That’s how I’ve been. That’s how I’ll be going forward.” (A Stumpf - MLB.com - May 4, 2024)

Jones made the uniform number change from No. 37 to No. 17 this season, which he wore for his rookie season in 2024.

Jones spoke ahead of Pirates Fest about the decision to make the change, saying that both his father, Ketih Jones, and his grandfather wore the No. 17 jersey during their playing days. He also said that he wore the number before he became a professional, so once he got a shot at it, he took it.  (Dominic Campbell - Jan. 24, 2026 - SI)

2024 Season Pitch Usage/Avg. Velo: Fastball 51.4% - 96.7 mph; Change 7.7% - 89.3 mph; Slider 31% - 88.3 mph; Curve 10% - 80.7 mph.

2025 Season Pitch Usage/Avg. Velo: Fastball 51.3% - 96.7 mph; Change 7.8% - 89.5 mph; Slider 30.8% - 88.4 mph; Curve 9.8% - 80.8 mph.

Jones is still very much a power pitcher, he’s just learned how to use that stuff more effectively. He’s continued to throw consistently harder as he’s advanced in his pro career, with a fastball now consistently clocked in the 96-99 mph range. While they do still blend together, metrics show his hard, sweeping slider and his curve are separating more and more, with more depth to the curve sure to help them set apart moving forward. His changeup has also gotten better, fooling hitters when he throws it in the upper-80s, but he throws it too hard (in the low-90s) at times.

While he cut his walk rate considerably in 2022, there’s still work to be done in terms of Jones’ overall command. Super-competitive, Jones has learned to keep his emotions in check on the mound, giving him every chance to continue his evolution as a complete pitcher and reach his ceiling as a big league starter. (BA - Spring 2023)

Jared has real horsepower in his four-pitch mix. He’s a dynamic athlete and his upper-90s fastball can touch 100 mph while boring in on righthanded hitters. Both his breaking balls have plus potential. The slider, in particular, tunnels well with his fastball and gives hitters fits. Jones also throws a firm, upper-80s changeup that lags behind his other pitches. A combination of bad luck (.310 BABIP) and wavering command led to Jones battling high pitch counts and inefficiency,

There’s some skepticism Jones’ size and command hold up over an entire season as a starting pitcher. His electric bat-missing arsenal is suited for a high-leverage relief role if it doesn’t. (Mark Chiarelli - BA Prospect Handbook - Spring, 2023)

The Pirates believe he made command improvements, especially with his secondaries, as the season progressed. A demonstrative and fiery competitor, Jones is still learning the finer points of pitching and the Pirates believe he dealt with adversity more effectively in 2022.

Jared takes a small step across his body on the mound and pauses. His left foot rests one step ahead of his right foot, which braces on the rubber.

From the plate, his position is turned slightly, almost closed off toward the hitter. After pausing to get set, Jones begins the process of his delivery.

The step across to start his delivery is a new adjustment for the 22-year-old Jones this year, aimed to get him in a better starting position.

“It’s nothing like a drastic change,” Jones said. “It’s more of just where I’m comfortable. Picking my leg up right from that position leads me straight toward the plate.”

Jones’ fastball sits mid 90s and has hit triple digits. His slider has a chance to be a plus offering, and his changeup has made positive strides this year. His new starting point is aimed at keeping all of that average-to-plus stuff in the strike zone more frequently.

His mentality, which is not new, is to attack the opposing hitters without fear, aiming to throw strikes and get out of the inning quickly.

“I try not to change my mindset too much,” Jones said. “I’m a competitor. It’s who I am. Just wanting to throw the ball through the catcher. It’s really what I’ve been focused on the most.” (Tim Williams - BA - Aug., 2023)

Jones’ power stuff dominated Low-A hitters, as he struck out 14 per nine over his 66 innings of work. He throws his fastball in the mid-90s consistently and can reach back for more, with good spin rates up in the zone. He’s gone back and forth on which breaking pitch he wants to focus on, and he committed more to the harder mid-80s slider, landing it for strikes with positive results. There is feel for a changeup, but he still tends to throw it too hard, in the 85-88 mph range.

Command remains the biggest obstacle in Jones’ development as a potential starter. His walk rate (4.6 BB/9) wasn’t astronomical given his experience level and there are no glaring issues with his delivery. He just needs reps to improve consistency of execution and to build up the work load. If he can do that, he has the chance to start, with the fastball-slider combination out of a bullpen an interesting backup plan. (Spring 2022)

Jared's command and 45 grade control must improve. 

“Jonesy is a fiery kid,” Greensboro manager Callix Crabbe said. “When he’s on the mound, he’s a competitor. Competitors have to find the right gear. Oftentimes when a guy like that gets hit, they try to throw it harder.”

“If he can learn to throw strikes with those pitches early in the count, what it can do is get hitters off the heater that he has,” Crabbe said.

The combination of ingredients creates one of the loudest arsenals in Pittsburgh’s system, but Jones needs to hone his command to showcase it more consistently. Some scouts wonder if his combination of size and effortful delivery portends a future shift to the bullpen. Jones is immensely athletic, though, leading the Pirates to believe he’ll continue to improve.

He also draws raves internally for his competitiveness on the mound. (Mark Chiarelli - Baseball America Prospect Handbook - Spring, 2022)

Entering pro ball, Jones was seen as more thrower than pitcher, but with the makings of a three-pitch mix. There’s more than enough fastball to work with, with good tail. His slider has the chance to be at least above-average if he commits to throwing the harder version of it rather slower slurvy offering, and he can get underneath the pitch at times with a lower elbow. Though his changeup can be too firm,, he has shown some feel for the off-speed pitch.

The biggest issue for the young right-hander has been his control, which was inconsistent in high school. He’s strong and athletic with good bloodlines -- his father played pro ball and his mother was a college softball player -- and if he can iron out some of the delivery concerns, he has the chance to start. (Spring 2021)

Jared has electric arm speed. He and the Pirates have worked on adjusting his effortful delivery to improve both his command and control. The Bucs will keep Jones as a starter until he proves his changeup and high-effort delivery demand a move to the bullpen. (Tim Williams - Baseball America Prospect Handbook - Spring, 2021)

Jones will show three usable pitches, though he's more arm strength than pitch-ability at this point in his young career. But there's plenty of arm to like, with a fastball thrown with good tail. He'll flash a solid slider that he adds and subtracts from, but it's at its best when it's the harder version of the pitch and not the more slurvy offering. He does miss bats with it, though a lower elbow in his delivery leads to him getting underneath it at times. He doesn't need his changeup much now, and it's a bit firm, but the off-speed pitch has the chance to give him a third at least average offering.

Jones’ command has been inconsistent at best, not unusual for a prep power pitcher. While he's not the biggest guy in the world, he's strong and athletic, getting good genes from both his father and his mother, who played collegiate softball. (Spring 2021)

Jones’ fastball has been clocked in the upper 90's, and he throws a solid slider that can be a swing-and-miss pitch. He doesn’t use his changeup much now, but he should be able to develop it into a third offering to round out his arsenal. And if you want an idea of just how strong his right arm is, consider that one of his throws from the outfield lit up radar guns at 100 mph last year. (Spring 2020)

Jared's slider gets swings-and-misses, though a lower elbow in his delivery leads to him getting underneath it at times. It's at its best when it's the harder 80-82 mph version of the pitch and not the more slurvy 74-78 mph offering.

Jones does throw strikes, though he lacks overall command, not unusual for a prep power pitcher.

2021 Season: In his first taste of pro-ball he pitched in 18 games at Low-A, 15 of them starts, logging 66 innings. Jones posted just a 4.64 ERA in these 66 innings of work, but he allowed home runs at just a 0.82 HR/9 clip while striking out 34.1% of batters faced. Jones has bright future with the Pirates.

Transition from thrower to pitcher key for Pirates prospect Jared Jones.

Jared has always been a thrower, the reputation that tends to come with having an electric arm and routinely flirting with triple-digit readings on a radar gun.

But it wasn’t until this past season — and with a little help from his friends — that the Pirates’ second-round pick in 2020 truly turned into a pitcher.

And, yeah, they’re absolutely different things, largely predicated on experience gained, a line separating raw talent from sustainable performance.

“I had a couple days last year where I felt like I pitched better than what I should have,” Jones said. “It’s a really good feeling doing that stuff.”

How Jones made it happen — giving his Low-A Bradenton team a chance despite not having his best stuff, the truest difference between a thrower and pitcher — speaks to an important evolution for the Pirates pitching prospect, especially considering Jones’ ceiling is ridiculously high.

But to best understand what Jones experienced this past season, let’s rewind to when he was drafted in the second round (44th overall) out of La Mirada High near Los Angeles, the Pirates luring Jones away from a Texas commitment with an above-slot, $2.2 million signing bonus.

Coming out of high school, it was believed Jones could play outfield and pitch. He was named the 2019 Perfect Game/Rawlings National High School Two-Way Player of the Year and became close friends with Michael Lorenzen, a pitcher/outfielder with the Angels (formerly the Reds), through La Mirada’s Fellowship for Christian Athletes Program.

Jones has held out slim hope that he might get a chance to hit, but apparently the designated hitter infiltrating the National League — expected after the lockout ends — was the final straw for Jones.

“Might as well call it quits now,” Jones said.

The focus solely on pitching, however, has been really good for Jones and his development. Jumping right into full-season ball with the Marauders this past season, Jones lived with two pitchers the Pirates plucked out of college in Nick Garcia (Chapman) and Logan Hoffman (Northwestern State).

Whenever the team had a night or afternoon off, the three would sit around and watch baseball, Garcia and Hoffman pointing out things to try and Jones taking mental notes the entire time.

“It really helped me learn a lot about pitching,” Jones said.

So did what Jones experienced this season, with plenty of ups and downs, the right-hander refining his pitch mix while occasionally getting everything in sync and looking downright nasty. There’s also plenty on which to work, which is certainly expected at this stage.

But when you look at the Pirates’ vastly improved number of pitching prospects, Jones is routinely one of those referenced, with FanGraphs ranking him the highest at No. 9 in the system. And his journey should theoretically only be starting.

In 18 games (15 starts) totaling 66 innings, Jones had a 4.64 ERA, struck out 103, walked 34 and allowed opposing hitters to bat .245.

In one game — June 27 against Jupiter — Jones struck out 11 of the 12 batters he faced. In another, Sept. 10 at Clearwater, Jones walked three, hit two and gave up five earned runs while recording only five outs. His ERA was 2.41 (with 33 strikeouts against eight walks) in his first six appearances but ballooned to 9.00 (with five more walks in 1 2/3 fewer innings) over his last nine.

Put in simpler terms, it was uneven.

“It’s the first year, and I didn't know what to expect,” Jones said. “I felt like I was naked out there on the mound sometimes.”

How Jones might even out those peaks and valleys includes a few different layers, starting with what he’s been doing at Pirate City. After picking up a curveball during the COVID-19 shutdown, Jones now throws four pitches: a four-seamer, slider, changeup and curve.

His fastball regularly sits around 97 mph and has touched 99 mph. Triple-digits remains the goal. Meanwhile, the harder version of his slider ranks as one of the better breaking balls in the organization, while his changeup has come a long way, too.

For someone with as much raw talent as Jones, it has been little tweaks here and there (tunneling certain pitches, cleaning up mechanics) that have produced the biggest results -— stuff that has enabled to Jones to simply attack hitters with confidence.

“I'm definitely a pitcher who doesn't like thinking when I'm on the mound,” said Jones, who said he rarely shakes signs for that same reason. “When I start thinking, that's when I fall apart.”

Jones said he wasn’t thinking at all during that 11-strikeout performance and described the whole thing as “blacking out,” basically just being so focused on every pitch and every batter that he lost track of everything happening around him.

As Jones found out, it’s a big part of transitioning from thrower to pitcher.

“You don’t know what to expect walking into your first season,” Jones said. “But I feel like this year is gonna be a lot better.”  (Jason Mackey - March 3, 2022)

Jared is working on trusting his stuff, without having to rely on the top-end velocity.

2022 Season: With Jones, the stuff isn’t the question. He features a mid-90s fastball with great spin, a tantalizing slider and other budding secondaries. The big question mark is command. While Jones’ ERA (4.62) and FIP (4.85) were merely solid, he walked nearly one fewer batter per nine innings in 2022 (3.74) compared to 2021 (4.64). The long ball bit him, but some of that might be a function of playing in hitter-friendly Greensboro.  (Justice delos Santos - Oct. 20, 2022)

April 19, 2023: The 21-year-old’s calling card is an electrifying four-seam fastball that sits in the mid-to-high 90s, a pitch that can flirt with triple digits. To complement the heater, Jones features a changeup (88-90 mph), slider (86-88 mph) and curveball (78-81 mph). With those four pitches in his bag, Jones has accumulated 254 strikeouts across 197 1/3 innings or 11.60 per nine innings.

“The kid has a lot of life on his fastball and throws it with a ton of confidence,” Velasquez said.For Jones, the Pirates’ No. 11 prospect per MLB Pipeline, the biggest area for growth is command. In his professional career, Jones is walking 4.15 batters per nine innings. That doesn’t include the 22 batters he’s plunked as well.

Jones made strides in the walk department last season; after walking 4.64 batters per nine innings in 2021, Jones walked 3.74 batters per nine innings in 2022. Still, when looking at his body of work, Jones knows there are still steps to take.

“You’re never really satisfied with what you have,” Jones said. “You always want to get better and better as the years go on. I was okay with it, but I wasn’t satisfied.” (JD Santos - MLB.com - April 19, 2023)

2023 Season: Jones received an invitation to Spring Training with Pittsburgh, before being assigned to Altoona. In 10 starts with the Curve, Jones went 1-4 while posting a 2.23 ERA. The record wasn't great, but his low amount of earned runs on the mound saw him get elevated to Triple-A in June where he would finish out the season with mixed results, and not getting the call up to Pittsburgh this season.

The inconsistencies for a young pitcher going through the ranks of the minor leagues is not uncommon, especially for someone as raw as Jones. Athletically, Jones is as gifted as they come, with an incredibly strong arm. That strength has helped Jones model himself as a power pitcher, with his fastball sitting between 96-99 mph. This season in particular saw Jones work more on his off-speed pitches, and furthering the gap between his curve and sweeping slider, finding more concrete identity in both. Even his changeup is coming along, although touching 90 with an off-speed pitch is a no-no.

Jones is expected to make his debut in Pittsburgh in 2024, and while I’m not going to rule that out, I do think he could see some time bouncing back and forth between Triple-A and the majors. Mitch Keller was the same way when he was first starting out, and it looks like Quinn Priester may be as well as he too needs to further develop an identity on the mound.

Jones is the number 69 overall prospect in baseball and the number 3 overall prospect in Pittsburgh’s system. (JaimanWhite@JaimanWhite - Oct 30, 2023)

April 17, 2024: Taking on the Mets, Jones pitched five innings of scoreless baseball, allowing just one hit and no walks while striking out seven. The right-hander joined Masahiro Tanaka, Stephen Strasburg and Jose DeLeon as the only pitchers since 1983 to have seven or more strikeouts through their first four MLB starts, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com.

2024 Season: Jones was another arm the Pirates spent a premium draft pick on, and like Skenes, the 23-year-old debuted last season and really made a strong impression. In 22 starts, Jones pitched to a 4.14 ERA with a 1.19 WHIP, while holding opponents to a .232 batting average and striking out 132 hitters in 121.2 innings. (Justin Mears - Dec. 8, 2024)

Improving his arsenal will play a big factor in that growth for the young right-hander. Jones teased in a recent Sportsnet Pittsburgh interview with Hannah Mearns that he added a fifth pitch to his mix that he’d debut in his first spring training start for the Pirates.

That start came recently when Jones tossed two scoreless innings with just one hit allowed and three strikeouts. Jones had solid stuff and felt far better about his debut pitch than he did during the offseason.

“I don’t think it sucks like I thought it did, but I think it’s a pretty good pitch so far,” Jones told reporters, per Mearns.  (Tim Crowley - Feb. 26, 2025 - Sportsnet Pittsburg)

April 23-May 10, 2023: Jones was on the IL.

July 4-Aug 27, 2024: Jared was on the IL with right lat strain.

MISSED ENTIRE 2025 SEASON

March 19, 2025: Jones will not pitch again this Spring Training after reporting elbow discomfort to the Pirates after his most recent bullpen session. The Pirates are still learning about the severity of Jones' injury. They’ve done imaging and are waiting on a second opinion.

March 26, 2025: Senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said that Jones sustained a UCL sprain in his right elbow, but the ligament is stable. Conservative management was recommended by Dr. Keith Meister, not surgery. That means Jones will not pick up a baseball for approximately six weeks, and as long as Jones continues to show healing, he may begin a two-handed plyo program in about three weeks.

May 21, 2025: The Pirates' right-hander underwent surgery on his right elbow and will miss the remainder of the 2025 MLB season.  Jared had surgery to repair his right UCL by Dr. Keith Meister in Dallas. A projected return to full competition is 10-12 months.

Jones suffered a right UCL sprain in Spring Training, but after seeking multiple opinions and doing rounds of imaging, it was determined the ligament was intact and that surgery could be avoided. After six weeks of rest, Jones started tossing again at the end of April, with the hope being that he could throw off a slope by the end of May. Jones started to experience recurring symptoms when he was throwing out to 100 feet. He reconvened with Meister, after which Jones agreed that surgery was the best course of action moving forward.

Sept 21, 2025: Starting pitcher Jones, who has missed the regular season after undergoing surgery in mid-May to repair his right elbow, has started playing catch three times a week from 60 feet at Pirate City, Pittsburgh’s Spring Training facility in Bradenton, Fla.