Pittsburgh Pirates Draft Another Jared Jones, Another LSU College World Series Hero

Paul Skenes had a teammate named Jared Jones at LSU. He had another teammate named Jared Jones once he joined the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Now, both Jared Joneses are set to be members of the same professional organization.

The Pirates took first baseman Jared Jones with the No. 263 overall pick on Monday, making him their ninth-round selection of the 2025 MLB Draft. MLB Pipeline had him ranked No. 101 on their pre-draft big board, and he now carries a slot value of $206,100.

Back in 2020, Pittsburgh selected right-handed pitcher Jared Jones in the second round out of La Mirada High School (Calif.). He became a top-three prospect in their farm system by the start of 2024, just before he made his MLB debut.

The 23-year-old Jared Jones went 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA, 1.192 WHIP, 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings and a 1.7 WAR in 22 starts last year. Instead of improving upon those numbers in his sophomore campaign, though, the righty suffered an elbow injury late in spring training and underwent season-ending surgery in May.

As for the 21-year-old Jared Jones, he won his second Men's College World Series title this past June. He was previously a national champion alongside Skenes in 2023, back when he was a freshman.

Jones hit .311 with 64 home runs, 41 doubles, 180 RBIs, 133 walks and a 1.097 OPS across 189 career games at LSU. He delivered a signature moment in Omaha this year as well, sending the Tigers to the finals with a walk-off RBI against Arkansas.

The new Jared Jones is 6-foot-4 and 246 pounds, which should make him pretty easy to distinguish from the 6-foot, 190-pound pitcher of the same name. It will probably take some time before the two share the same clubhouse, anyways, if they are both still Pirates by the time the younger Jones reaches the majors.