How much history can Skenes and Jones make in 2024?

In Pirates history, Jones and Skenes stand out, but are they destined to be franchise legends?

Jones’s early season success has him close to the top of the franchise leaderboards in WHIP and strikeouts per nine innings. Once opposing batters get a feel for his stuff, I anticipate the hits will start coming, bringing down his WHIP. I can see, though, a world where Jones and Skenes continue to generate whiffs and amass strikeouts. Especially with stuff like this:

Let’s say that Jones and Skenes make 25 starts each and average six strikeouts per start. (Jones has already made eight starts and has averaged seven Ks.) Even if their innings are limited, they will end up among the franchise’s single-season leaders in strikeouts per nine innings. The only other Pirates players to land in the Top 10 in this category in a single season were Francisco Liriano and Gerrit Cole in 2015.

This, of course, assumes that Jones and Skenes stay up with the big-league club for much of the 2024 season, and given the fact that Skenes has pitched a grand total of four innings (plus two batters before getting pulled without recording an out in the fifth), this may not be a safe assumption.