Pittsburgh Pirates 2021 Prospect Preview: Pitcher Jared Jones

The next Pittsburgh Pirates prospect we will preview for the 2021 season is pitcher Jared Jones

The Pittsburgh Pirates went pitcher heavy in the 2020 draft. Aside from their first pick in the draft, Nick Gonzales, none of their other picks were position players. In the second round, they chose high school right-hander Jared Jones.

Jones was selected out of La Mirada High School in Whittier, California. The right-hander was a two-way player throughout his high school career. However, the Pittsburgh Pirates plan on developing him as just a pitcher. Jones might just be one of the most advanced pitchers in the team’s system already.

His fastball has already been clocked in the upper-90s and has even touched 99 MPH before his 20th birthday. He also has the stamina to keep his velo up throughout games and averages out in the 93-97 MPH range. His four-seamer is already seen as a 60-grade offering by both FanGraphs and MLB Pipeline.

His primary breaking pitch is a slider. Jones can throw two versions of his slider. The better of the two is his hard, 80-82 MPH slider. The other version is a slurve-like pitch that he can take about 5-8 MPH off of as it comes in around the mid-to-upper 70s.

Regardless, his slider well-above-average offering that FanGraphs has as a 60-future grade, and MLB Pipeline has a 55-grade for. FanGraphs also gives him a 55-grade for his 55-grade for a curveball, most likely identifying his slurve-like offering as a curveball.

Finally, there’s his changeup. This offering is a pitch he can run into the 85-88 MPH range. While it’s not his best offering, nor a pitch he uses very frequently, it definitely should not be slept on. It can still be an average pitch in the future.

The only weakness Jones has is his overall control and command. It can get spotty at times. He only has a 35-future command grade and 40 control grade on FanGraphs and MLB Pipeline. But it’s not uncommon to see such a young, hard-throwing pitcher have inconsistent command. MLB Pipeline states that if he can iron out his delivery, he could be a starter long term.

Jones stands at 6’1, 180 pounds, and already pretty big frame for a kid who doesn’t turn 20 until August 2nd. Jones is just 3 inches shorter than two-time National League Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom while standing at the same weight. Dodger co-ace Walker Buehler currently only stands one inch and 5 pounds heavier than Jones.

The ability of Jones to already throw into the upper-90s on the regular at such a young age makes him a very high-ceiling prospect. If his fastball already projects as a 60-grade offering, imagine what it could look like when he’s 22-24 years old. With the amount of talent he has, he could be an ace starter with a blazing fastball. With his arsenal, you’re talking about a potential #1 starting pitcher.

Jones is currently ranked as the Pirates’ 17th best prospect by both FanGraphs and MLB Pipeline. But it wouldn’t be hard to imagine him ranking among the team’s 10 best prospects or even higher by the end of the start of next season. Control has been the only real concern for Jones and if he can overcome that, you’re looking at a very dangerous pitching prospect.