'Looking out for us': Pirates deliberate in development of Jared Jones, Paul Skenes

Yasmani Grandal has had a front-row seat for two of the featured attractions in baseball, starting behind the plate for Paul Skenes at Triple-A Indianapolis and Jared Jones for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In the span of five days, the two-time All-Star catcher was witness to why they are more than just right-handers capable of touching triple digits with ease but starting pitchers for which the Pirates have given special treatment as it relates to pitch and innings counts.

“Both of those guys,” Grandal said, “are pretty electric.”

Where the 22-year-old Jones made the Opening Day roster and had 10 strikeouts in a dazzling debut, the Pirates created controversy by pulling him in the fifth inning of an April 16 start at the New York Mets despite throwing 50 of his 59 pitches for strikes. Pirates manager Derek Shelton later explained it was a predetermined move to protect Jones, who was making his first start in the majors on four days of rest.

The Pirates have been even more deliberate with Skenes. The No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft signed for a record $9.2 million bonus, then pitched 6 2/3 innings in five starts across three levels of the minor leagues last summer and was limited to 4 1/3 innings or fewer by pitch counts through his first five starts this season.

“They’re looking out for us,” Jones said. “I’m sure me and him feel the same way about it. It’s awesome that they’re looking out for us.”

While Jones is off to an historic start to his career by recording seven or more strikeouts in six of his first seven starts and coming off a game where he had 10 strikeouts with one hit allowed and no walks in seven scoreless innings, the 21-year-old Skenes has been absolutely dominant at Indianapolis. They are friends who talk regularly, discussing their baseball futures while playing Fortnite on a regular basis.

“I wouldn’t say it’s competitive,” Jones said. “I think every pitcher here wants everyone else to shove, and that’s exactly what’s going on. So it’s fun to watch him pitch, and I’m sure he feels the same way about me.”

What separates Skenes is not just the numbers, though they are impressive: He has a 0.99 ERA and 0.91 WHIP with 45 strikeouts against eight walks in 27 1/3 innings over seven starts, holding opponents to a .175 batting average.

But the 6-foot-6, 250-pounder is showing off a repertoire of filthy pitches, starting with a four-seam fastball that has touched 102 mph and a nasty slider. The Pirates wanted him to work on his secondary stuff, which includes a “splinker” — a splitter-sinker hybrid — a changeup and a curveball.

“Skenes looks ready,” said SportsNet Pittsburgh analyst Steven Brault, a former Pirates pitcher. “As far as what he’s going to feature, that four-seam fastball, slider and splinker combo is absolutely disgusting. So you get 100, 95, 90, then his changeup is sometimes below that and he’s got a curve. If you can have that big speed separation, that’s always nice. The main thing is, he’s throwing it for strikes. And a lot of guys in the minor leagues don’t.”

Skenes’ success has prompted calls from fans for the Pirates to promote him to the majors, especially as they endured a stretch of 13 losses in 16 games that included a six-game losing streak. It coincided with Skenes striking out seven in six scoreless innings against Buffalo on April 30, which prompted Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline to start researching how Skenes’ time in the minors compared to other top pitching prospects who made their debuts within a year of being drafted.

“It is kind of funny because I’ve even evolved in my thinking about him because they’re slow-rolling him, but they’re putting him in Triple-A,” said Mayo, who wrote a book, “Smart, Wrong, and Lucky: The Origin Stories of Baseball’s Unexpected Stars.”

“With all of the hand-wringing about, ‘Why haven’t they called him up? He’s too dominant,’ the amount of innings that he’ll have thrown in the minors will be at the very low end of that group.”

The Chicago Cubs selected Mark Prior with the No. 2 overall pick in 2001, then promoted the right-hander after recording 79 strikeouts against 18 walks over 51 innings in nine starts across Double-A and Triple-A the following year. Prior went 6-6 with a 3.32 ERA in 116 2/3 innings over 19 starts for the Cubs in 2002, then 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA in 30 starts the following season.

Stephen Strasburg was the buzz of the baseball world in 2009, when the Washington Nationals selected him first overall after recording 195 strikeouts in 109 innings over 15 starts at San Diego State. The right-hander had 23 strikeouts in 19 innings in the Arizona Fall League, 27 strikeouts in 22 innings at Double-A Harrisburg and 38 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings at Triple-A Syracuse before being promoted to the majors June 8, 2010, in what a Sports Illustrated columnist called “the most hyped pitching debut the game has ever seen.”

That Strasburg had 14 strikeouts without a walk against the Pirates that day only reinforces the belief that Skenes could be just as sensational in his debut, given that he’s averaging 14.8 strikeouts per nine innings in Triple-A.

“I don’t think there’s anybody, including the Pirates’ front office, who has any doubt that Paul Skenes can get major-league hitters out,” Mayo said. “Everyone knows that his stuff is good enough. What they’re trying to do is have him as prepared to have a chance to stay up there for good and have a chance to win every time out from this point through the end of the year. I think that’s where they’re trying to strike that balance.”

It was under a different front-office regime that the Pirates picked Gerrit Cole No. 1 overall in 2011, but they had him make five starts in the Arizona Fall League before throwing 132 innings over 26 starts across three levels in 2012 and another dozen starts at Indy in 2013 before making his major-league debut that June.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said there is no blueprint for them to follow, stressing that every pitcher is an individual case, but said the baseball operations staff has studied similar situations. And they also have to take into consideration that Prior and Strasburg were plagued by injuries throughout their careers.

“We were reminded when we were looking into Paul’s case coming into spring training, even the most highly decorated, highly drafted college pitchers who went on to have a lot of success — even that cohort, which is not a real big group — they pitched quite a bit in the minor leagues,” Cherington said. “Not years in the minor leagues always, but they all pitched a decent amount in the minor leagues.

“There is something to working through some of the stuff that you have to experience in pro ball, with the scheduling differences and the adjustments that professional hitters will make. I think there’s something to it, for sure. There’s value in that experience. It’s just a question of how much does one need. Usually, pitchers will tell us that.”

While on a rehabilitation assignment in Indianapolis, Grandal couldn’t help but notice the work Skenes did behind the scenes and how he carried himself like a professional and how it rubbed off on teammates.

“That’s the most impressive part about it, the fact that he goes about it the right way and he knows what to do,” Grandal said. “That’s good to see younger guys doing that.”

The Pirates have Skenes focused on adjusting from starting on Friday nights at LSU to pitching every five days as a professional and finding a routine between starts. That involves determining when to lift weights and to run and which days to rest his arm and to throw a bullpen session.

“Skenes needs time to be able to figure that out,” Brault said. “I understand that you want him here, but at the same time, you want him here for the long haul.”