Over the past 5-10 years, the role of the starting pitcher has diminished, and the days of every team having an ace or multiple must-watch starting pitchers have gradually become a thing of the past as pitchers rarely throw a consistent seven innings per start or 200 innings per season anymore.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are looking to buck this trend and have a pair of young starters that are absolutely must-watch at the moment, largely because of one impressive stat.
Codify shared a post on Twitter that highlighted the fastest pitches thrown by starting pitchers this season, and Pirates starters Paul Skenes and Jared Jones have the top-13 spots covered with Skenes topping out at 101.9 mph and Jones topping out at 101.4.
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, 100.9Just a pair of 22-year old Pirates. 🔥🔥 https://t.co/11rR37Oe0B
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) June 4, 2024
Skenes has only made four regular-season starts so far, so for him to have 10 of the top-13 fastest pitches thrown so far this season is unreal.
His hype has been so high that Jones hasn’t gotten the attention he deserves, as he has an impressive 3.25 ERA with 76 strikeouts to just 15 walks thus far.
Skenes has been everything fans could have hoped for so far and is 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA with 30 strikeouts and just five walks.
The Pirates have two exceptional young starting pitchers to build around and are trending upward overall at 28-32, and eventually, the question will come down to whether or not the Pirates can keep these two around long-term.
Nevertheless, that’s a depressing topic for another day.
Pirates fans have a lot to be excited about right now and fans should continue to enjoy the ride.
