Pittsburgh Review

Jared Jones expressed frustration as he walked back to the visitors' dugout at Yankee Stadium on Friday night. He had hoped to finish the fifth inning after the Yankees placed two runners in scoring position with no outs. Jones managed to get Gleyber Torres out, but his power slider that broke Torres' bat was his final pitch of the 2024 season. The inherited runners scored on a Jazz Chisholm Jr. single, resulting in a season ERA of 4.14 for Jones.

Despite this, the Pirates defeated the Yankees 4-2, thanks to Bryan Reynolds and Nick Gonzales. Manager Derek Shelton praised Jones: "I love his intensity," said Shelton. "He's a competitor... And to have that at [23], that ability, that killer instinct, yeah, I love that."

Jones' final start showed promise after returning from an injury in July. He reached speeds over 100 mph and struck out seven batters. Teammate Bryan Reynolds commended Jones' approach: "He just attacks every time... That's big going forward for us next year."

Jones has quickly established himself in the rotation since debuting on March 30. His 132 strikeouts are among the highest for National League rookie pitchers this year.

However, Jones remains critical of his performance: "Just being myself, I would say it was terrible,” he said. “After the injury... Everything just kind of went up on me." Despite some rough patches in the second half of the season, including allowing five runs in two outings, Shelton still sees potential: "I think he's been good [since returning from the injured list]."

Jones also worked on incorporating more curveballs into his pitching repertoire later in the season: “It's going to be good for next year,” he noted.

Looking ahead to 2025, Jones aims to improve further by developing a third pitch and building strength for a full season. Reflecting on what would constitute a successful campaign next year, he said: "Doing what [Skenes] did this year... I want to eliminate [blowup starts] and just not let those happen."