2 questions Pirates have already answered in 2024, 1 that still lingers

The Pirates' rotation is looking like it might be one of the best in the league very soon

This offseason, there was little doubt about who would be at the top of the rotation. The team had Mitch Keller atop the rotation. They acquired a pair of crafty veteran left-handers in Martin Perez and Marco Gonzales, while the last few spots were sort of up for grabs. This seemed like a respectable rotation, but nothing that would seem to scare a lot of teams.

Now, over 50 games into the 2024 season, the Pirates have one of the best one-two punches in baseball, and with the recent Paul Skenes performances, as well as Jared Jones' rapid rise, Pittsburgh possesses a rotation that will surely be one of the best, one through three, in all of baseball.

Everyone knows that Keller is an innings eater and someone that will limit damage, not walk anyone, and just be the underrated work horse (and, after being extended, he'll be in Pittsburgh for quite a while. Everyone thought Jared Jones would be good, but did anyone think he would dominate as much as he has? In nine starts, Jones has thrown 53 innings with an absurd 10.7 K/9 and 1.2 BB/9. Jones is looking like a legit ace and, at just 22, will be a fixture in this rotation and for the National League Cy Young for years to come. The other starter he may be duking it out with, Paul Skenes, looks like he is going to live up to the "generational talent" label that was thrown out there ahead of his debut.

Seeing these three dominate the way that they have proves that this rotation could become one of the best in baseball, and very soon. The three-headed monster of Keller, Skenes and Jones could go toe-to-toe with many of the rotations in baseball and rivals the young, high-powered rotation that the Mariners have built. You factor in some of the other guys that are knocking on the door like Quinn Priester, Bubba Chandler, Anthony Solometo, and Thomas Harrington, and this rotation has the chance to become one of the best rotations Pirates' fans have ever seen.

No matter who from that second group pans out, Pittsburgh has already answered any offseason rotation concerns emphatically.