Here's how Bucs' trio of young aces can take it to the next level

This story was excerpted from Alex Stumpf’s Pirates Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PITTSBURGH -- During the GM Meetings at San Antonio last week, general manager Ben Cherington was asked how do the Pirates take advantage of Paul Skenes’ prime to build a winner. The answer was multi-faceted, but it started with something that Cherington has talked about often: Continuing to develop and grow their own players.

“We need to continue to get more out of the players we have, including that guy you’re talking about,” Cherington answered. “Our young pitching is the backbone of the team, and we feel like all those guys have another level that they’re capable of.”

The Pirates boast one of the best young staffs in baseball, headed by a top three of Skenes, Mitch Keller and Jared Jones that could rival any other team in 2025. They also can improve on their 2024 results, as Cherington said. Here’s a key for each of those big three to take a step next season.

Jared Jones: Lock in a third pitch

This is probably the most obvious, and something Jones discussed down the stretch. For most of the year, Jones mostly rolled with two pitches: Four-seam fastball and slider. They’re two of the best pitches on the staff, but if one pitch wasn’t clicking on a particular night, it usually spelled trouble.

That’s why his September was so intriguing. The results were up and down, but he leaned on his curveball more, doubling his usage to 15.7%. The sample size was too small to derive any big takeaways, but it was something he focused on during his rehab assignment the month prior.

“I think the scouting report is fastball-slider, and if it's anything else, just spit [on it], it's probably not going to be a strike,” Jones said in September.

Jones is likely always going to lean on that fastball-slider combo, but if he can have a third pitch to hang onto, it will go a long way to turning in more consistent results.

Mitch Keller: Maintain fastball velocity

When looking at the staff’s best pitches in last week’s newsletter, Keller’s four-seamer was the best on the staff in terms of run value. It also tapered off at the end of the season, going from averaging 95.1 mph in May and June to 93.8 mph in September. The results took a dip, too, and his .478 slugging percentage allowed off fastballs in September was the highest in any month. And for someone who pitches off of his fastball, the results over his final two months were uglier than his near All-Star first half of the season.

This is now two straight seasons in which Keller did not finish particularly strong. That needs to change in 2025.

“There's definitely a lot of highlights up there and definitely a lot of lowlights,” Keller said, reflecting on his season. “But overall, a lot of good things to look back on and a lot of things to keep working for.

"I don't know, it's weird. I'm happy with it and also disappointed in some areas, too, so a lot more I can do for myself and a lot more I can do for this team going into next year for sure.”

Paul Skenes: Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency

Candidly, this one was a bit tough. Skenes had one of the best seasons for a Pirates starter in recent memory and is already in the top tier of pitchers in the game. So how exactly does one improve on a sub-2 ERA?

Well, he has some ideas.

"I think there's some low-hanging fruit for me to be better next year,” Skenes said after his final start of the season. “So, just going to attack that, talk with the coaches and develop a plan once the offseason actually starts, too. But, got a plan and ready to put the work in."

Skenes didn’t go into detail that day, but he spoke about how he felt he became more efficient in his at-bats as the season progressed. The data backs that up. In May, he averaged 4.44 pitches per batter faced. Over the first half of the season, it was 4.2 pitches per plate appearances. Post All-Star break, it was 4.07 pitches. Shorter at-bats give Skenes a better opportunity to face an extra hitter or two, or maybe even go one extra inning.

Of course strikeouts are going to increase that pitch per at-bat rate, but the MLB average was 3.88 pitches per plate appearance last year. Can he get closer to that number?