Jones testing out new pitch to add to repertoire

BRADENTON, Fla. -- It was around this time a year ago that Jared Jones properly burst onto the Major League radar. He had been a highly-rated prospect ever since the Pirates took him in the second round of the 2020 Draft and was in position to join the team at some point in 2024, but a dominant Spring Training convinced the Pirates to add him to the Opening Day roster.

A year ago, Jones was one of the team¡¯s top prospects. Now, he¡¯s one of their top young pitchers and someone that the prospects gravitate to for advice on how to make that jump to the Majors.

¡°It¡¯s pretty cool,¡± Jones said. ¡°They ask questions about what it¡¯s like, what to expect. I think it¡¯s kind of cool to share how it went and not be surprised by it.¡±

Jones is coming off a strong rookie season and is part of the team¡¯s three-headed monster at the front of the rotation, alongside Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller. Starting pitching is this team¡¯s calling card, and they¡¯re going to need that trio to lead the way. Keller has talked about how the starting rotation wants to take more agency this year, which means Jones is going to be in more of a leadership role than he was last year.

That could be stressful for a 23-year-old breaking into camp, but as manager Derek Shelton noted, Jones is looking more comfortable this Spring Training than he was a year ago.

¡°Last year, he came into camp with the anxiety of trying to make the club and where he was at and finding his footing,¡± Shelton said. ¡°Now, it's a situation where he's working on his repertoire, adding the two-seamer, being able to use pitches.¡±

Wait, a two-seamer? That¡¯s new.

The two-seamer was an offseason project for Jones, and it should be debuted in games soon. Jones¡¯ four-seamer gets plenty of vertical break (averaging 17.1 inches without factoring in gravity) and this would move in the other direction.

¡°I just want something that runs,¡± Jones said. ¡°If it¡¯s good, yeah, [I¡¯ll use it]. If it¡¯s not, there¡¯s no point.¡±

Early returns sound encouraging, and this is the right time to experiment.

¡°The great thing about BP with your own group is you get feedback,¡± Shelton said. ¡°They've seen you, they know you, they've played behind you. They're going to give you the most honest feedback. It's not like we're going to get into a game against Baltimore and you're going to ask Gunnar Henderson, 'Hey, how does the two-seamer play?' In situations like this, we need to make sure that he's getting feedback. Not only from the metrics, from what he's feeling and also our hitters."

Pitch mix was a recurring theme for Jones last season. He leaned on two pitches in particular last season: His four-seam fastball (which he threw 49.3%) and his slider (34.8%). He would mix in a curveball (9.3% usage) and changeup (6.6%), but for most of the year, he was a fastball and slider guy.

April and May were arguably his two best months last year, and in both months over 85% of his pitches were a fastball or slider. It wasn¡¯t until September that he started mixing in his curveball more, throwing it 15.7% of the time in the final month of his rookie season. It gets plenty of movement (52 inches of drop) and spin (2,686 RPM average), and it yielded a very healthy 32.7% whiff rate.

When hitters made contact, though, it was usually hit hard. While hitters had a .224 batting average against the four-seamer and .208 against the slider, they feasted against the secondary offerings, hitting .348 against the curveball and .317 against the changeup.

Jones has shown he can excel with just two pitches, but it¡¯s hard for a starter to be consistent with just two offerings. At some point, a pitch is just going to have bad feel for a day, and then they¡¯re pitching with just one offering.

Jones admitted at the end of last season that there were times he felt hitters were just waiting for a fastball or slider and spitting on anything else. Continued growth for his secondary pitches -- or even the new two-seamer -- could go a long way.

¡°I¡¯ve thrown four pitches for seven, eight years now,¡± Jones said. ¡°It¡¯s about making them better and feeling more comfortable. As the years go on, it¡¯s going to keep getting more comfortable.¡±