Jared Jones, Paul Skenes Putting Radar Guns To Test Like No One Else

Thanks to Jared Jones and Paul Skenes, it’s not hard to find something to wish on when it comes to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

There’s renewed optimism for Steel City summers thanks to the Pirates’ dynamic 1-2 punch atop its starting rotation. Skenes’ lightning-bolt debut has largely overshadowed Jones, but the latter had a “Don’t forget about me” performance Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Pirates took the first of a three-game set behind arguably the best start of Jones’ career. The right-hander outdueled Tyler Glasnow, logging six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits while striking out six and walking three.

Jones’ most impressive feat might have come in the first inning against Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani. The Pirates hurler sent Ohtani back to the dugout, striking him out with a 101 mph running fastball that induced one of the most uncomfortable swings you’ll ever see Ohtani take. Jones also struck out the slugger again later in the game.

Once again, Jones’ fastball was sitting in the upper 90s, routinely hitting triple digits. That’s nothing new for Jones and his new rotation mate, Skenes. As Codify Baseball pointed out on X, the Pirates duo has turned in the 13 fastest pitches thrown by major leaguers this season.

Fastest pitches thrown by MLB starters this year:

Paul Skenes, 101.9
Jared Jones, 101.4
Jones, 101.3
Skenes, 101.2
Skenes, 101.2
Skenes, 101.2
Skenes, 101.1
Skenes, 101.1
Jones, 101
Skenes, 101
Skenes, 100.9
Skenes, 100.9
Skenes, 100.9

Just a pair of 22-year old Pirates. 🔥🔥 https://t.co/11rR37Oe0B

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) June 4, 2024

The relevance and importance of that stat is certainly up for debate. Throwing hard, especially in this day and age, doesn’t necessarily guarantee sustained big league success. It does, however, speak to a level of excitement for a team like the Pirates as they look to flip an old script. Jones and Skenes are going to give them a chance to win every time they take the mound, a 1-2 luxury the club hasn’t enjoyed in a long time.

That’s not even including Mitch Keller, who at 28 is the old man of that top-of-the-rotation trio.

If the Pirates can start scoring runs, they are going to go on some kind of run. Even if they can’t completely right the ship, sending Jones or Skenes to the mount back-to-back shows the future is bright.