Pirates Manager Derek Shelton Addresses Next Steps For Young Pitcher

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a high-end one two punch at the top of their starting rotation with Paul Skenes and Jared Jones.

Despite being overshadowed by National League Rookie of the Year winner Skenes and his historic rookie season, Jones put together a solid rookie campaign. In Jones 22 starts, he went went 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA, striking out 132 batters across 121.2 innings pitched.

Jones went 5-6 before the All-Star break with a 3.56 ERA, but struggled to maintain that level of success in the second half of the season. A strained right lat also kept Jones out for nearly two months of the season. He still impressed in his rookie season.

During the Winter Meetings, Pirates manager Derek Shelton addressed the next steps in the development of Jones for next season, as transcribed by Sports Illustrated’s Nathaniel Marrero.

“The first month and a half of the season, he was probably one of the best pitchers in the National League,” Shelton said. “It’s just the consistency. He’s (23) years old. (Jones) being able to finish the season, the grind of it, being able to execute his pitches (and having) standard control, I think that’s the next step, but that’s going to come with reps.

“That’s going to come with time. Again, (he’s) a guy we’re really excited about. Our pitching group is young. It’s exciting, not just the guys in the big leagues but the guys we have in the minor leagues that are coming. The next step is just going to be consistency.”

Pittsburgh has one of the best young rotations in the league with Skenes, Jones, and Mitch Keller, and have more top pitching prospects ready for the big leagues. If Jones replicates his early success next season, he can develop into a great pitcher for the Pirates.

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