Perrotto: Pirates Holding Their Breath With Jared Jones

The Pittsburgh Pirates talked about their enviable starting pitching depth throughout the offseason.

Now that depth might get tested quickly. Right-hander Jared Jones’ elbow is sore, and it seems like the 23-year-old will open the season on the injured list as the Pirates have decided not to have him make any more starts during spring training, which ends next Tuesday.

And starting the year on the IL might be the best-case scenario.

I’m not an alarmist, but the signs don’t seem good. Jones has had imaging on the elbow, and the Pirates are getting second opinions from doctors outside the organization.

Perhaps there is nothing to worry about. However, history suggests seeking second opinions often means that the injury is serious. If it is, that would blow a big hole in the Pirates’ rotation.

Every major-league pitcher’s elbow seemingly blows out at some point. It just happens sooner for some than others.

Jones’ fastball tops out at 100 mph, which is not unusual in an era when pitchers are encouraged to throw hard, harder and even harder.

When asked recently what he wanted to accomplish this season, Jones said, “Blow more doors.” In other words, blow hitters away with his fastball.

However, Jones isn’t the most physical guy at 6-foot and 190 pounds. It takes a lot of effort for someone that size to throw with that much velocity.

Jones also faded during a solid rookie season last year when he had a 6-8 record and 4.14 ERA in 22 starts with 132 strikeouts in 121.1 innings.

Jones spent nearly two months on the injured list from July 4-Aug. 26 with a strained right lat muscle. His ERA was 3.56 through 16 starts before he was injured, but 5.87 in six starts after being activated from the IL.

One can’t help but wonder if launching all those fastballs and hard sliders caught up to Jones quickly. Hopefully for Jones’ sake, he doesn’t need surgery, and maybe a few weeks of rest will heal the elbow.

It will be interesting to see how the Pirates fill Jones’ spot, whether for only one or two turns through the rotation or the entire season.

The Pirates love to use openers, and they love their bullpen games. Those concepts are fine during rough stretches within a season.

However, it would be silly for the Pirates not to tap into their starting pitching depth at the beginning of the season. While left-hander Caleb Ferguson and right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski have had their pitch counts built up this spring, they are better served as multiple-inning relievers than starters

The Pirates have four starting pitching prospects earmarked for Triple-A Indianapolis’ rotation – Bubba Chandler, Thomas Harrington, Braxton Ashcraft and Mike Burrows. Harrington is the only one who is still in major-league camp.

The gamble in having Harrington begin the season in the rotation is that he has made just eight starts in Triple-A, going 5-1 with a 3.33 ERA. They would also begin Harrington’s service club, which could have future implications with eligibility for salary arbitration and free agency.

However, the 23-year-old Harrington shows maturity beyond his age, and Baseball America ranks him as the 74th-best prospect in the game.

The Pirates put Jones on their opening-day roster last year despite limited Triple-A experience. He did not look overmatched and did quite well before being injured.

There is no harm in taking the same path with Harrington — and hoping for a better injury outcome.