The best story in the early part of the Pirates season has been Jared Jones.
Drafted in the second round in 2020 out of La Mirada High School, Jones has exploded onto the scene with a 3.18 ERA in 34 innings, led by a dominant 42:5 K/BB ratio. Baseball America just updated their top 100 prospect rankings, with Jones ranked as the second best pitching prospect in the game, behind Paul Skenes. What Jones is doing is special, and something the Pirates haven’t seen a lot of in the past from their rookies.