The Pirates have agreed to contract terms with their second-round draft choice. Pitcher Jared Jones of La Miranda High School in California was the 44th overall selection last week in the MLB draft. He had signed to play college baseball at the University of Texas.
Some teams viewed Jones as a power-hitting outfielder but the Bucs drafted him as a pitcher with a fastball already in the mid-to-upper 90s. He throws a plus slider and has a curve and changeup in his repertoire. MLB Network analyst Dan O’Dowd said last week that Jones has the “biggest upside” of any player in the entire draft.
Bucs General Manager Ben Cherrington said last week that Jones is a “super two-way player”, but the Pirates believe “he’s going to be a really good starting pitcher with good stuff.”
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