Coming into the 2025 season, the Pirates' starting pitching rotation was the bright light of hope as Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller and Jared Jones are seen as one of the best pitching trios in all of Major League Baseball. The light was dimmed in recent weeks but received a slight boost on Tuesday.

Jones has been sidelined since throwing a bullpen on March 16 after experiencing elbow discomfort. However, DK Pittsburgh Sports learned late Tuesday night that Jones has no torn ligaments in his right elbow but will be on no-throw status for multiple weeks. He will likely start the regular season on the injured list. 

An arm like Jones's getting removed from the starting rotation can create a sense of worry, but the Pirates had built up starting pitching depth early on in spring training as they added Andrew Heaney, a proven veteran with a winning pedigree, to the mix. However, what seemed like a plethora of extra arms on Feb. 12 has suddenly diminished. 

A right lat strain delayed Johan Oviedo's return from Tommy John surgery as he'll start the season on the 60-day injured list and Jones' flare-up has forced Derek Shelton and his staff to go with Carmen Mlodzinski as the fifth starter in the rotation. So, with the season starting Thursday, the Pirates will start the year with Skenes, Keller, Mlodzinski, Heaney and Bailey Falter. Despite the injuries that have popped up, this group remains ready and knows that it is the strength of this team.

"I think if you look at any team around the league, it starts with their pitching. If you've got good pitching, you're probably going to have a really good chance at the playoffs," Keller said after his final spring start. "We know that as a team. I think our starting five, as a group, we've really taken that to heart. We're the heartbeat of this team, so we've got to make it go."  

It starts with Skenes at the front. The iconic ace took MLB by storm last year and wants to accomplish more as he's raised the standard for this starting rotation and this team. He's a generational talent who is the reigning National League Rookie of the Year after recording a 1.96 ERA in 133 innings while striking out 170 batters. But he's also accepted his role and what comes with it. He's been pulled in every direction this spring for media interviews and other endeavors, but he's stayed focused on the task at hand.

"The diligence to his day-to-day was something that really stood out in terms of his work and it’s very obvious that even for a 23-year-old kid in his first full season, he knows what his primary focus is," Shelton said. "A lot of people can get caught up in the hoopla, I don’t think he’s got caught up in it at all, he knows he’s a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates and that’s first and foremost."

Skenes has tinkered with two new pitches throughout the spring and has worked to develop greater efficiency on the mound. He's consistently trying to improve and raise the standard for the rest of the staff and that's something that percolates throughout a room. The staff has developed an aggressive mindset this spring. It was something that was talked about as early as PiratesFest in late January and with the "stuff" that this staff has, it makes sense.

Both Skenes and Jones have fastballs that can reach triple digits and the Pirates' ace has one of the best pitch arsenals in the game with a deadly "splinker," two forms of a slider and the cutter and two-seam fastball he's developed this spring. Each pitcher on this staff has something they can lean on and they intend to use it.

"We're just going right after people," Keller said. "We don't really care who you are, just dominate in the zone." 

Keller, despite a few disappointing second halves, has been consistent for this team since breaking onto the big-league level in 2019. He's thrown 159 innings or more over the last three seasons and has topped 178 in the past two. After another late-season collapse last year, he finished with a 4.25 ERA, his highest mark since 2021. However, a year after signing a 5-year, $77 million extension, Keller has consistently looked to improve. He's tinkered with his changeup and has started throwing it more to protect his cutter and grow his seven-pitch repertoire.

While most will know what they are going to get from Skenes, Keller taking another step forward and being consistent for an entire year will be crucial for this starting rotation and he's worked to get to that point this year.

The rotation rounds out with Heaney, Falter and Mlodzinski. Heaney was signed right before the start of the Pirates' Grapefruit League schedule once Oviedo went down with his right lat strain. He adds another left-hander to the rotation and has been consistent over the last 11 years with a career 4.45 ERA. He eats up innings and has a winning pedigree after capturing a World Series with the Rangers in 2023. Mixing in him and Falter, who went 8-9 in 28 starts last season and developed a 4.43 ERA over 142 1/3 innings, gives the Pirates different looks, as they are two pitchers who rely on location and changing speeds compared to the likes of Skenes and Keller.

"Him (Heaney) and Bailey are both lefties, they both have good fastballs, but it’s a different type of fastball," Skenes said. "So they’ll be able to complement each and then, obviously, create some separation between me, Mitch, Jared and whoever else is going to pitch."

Then you add Mlodzinski into the mix as a placeholder for Jones. He's a 26-year-old right-hander who spent all of last season in the bullpen and started a few games as an opener. However, after starting the Pirates' Grapefruit League opener in February, he expressed his desire to become a starter and now he gets it. He's recorded a 3.72 ERA this spring while making four appearances, starting two games and pitching 9 2/3 innings. He's also thrown multiple simulated games on the back fields at PNC Park and is coming off his latest outing, where he threw 60 pitches over four innings. He's also expanded his repertoire with a two-seam fastball and a split-finger pitch. 

Mlodzinski was a starter in the minor leagues but turned into a reliever when he joined Class AAA Indianapolis in 2022. Since then, he's been in the bullpen and with a packed group of arms in the backend, he now gets the opportunity to stay in the major leagues. 

Shelton still isn't sure exactly how the starting rotation will be deployed. It's unclear if he'll try to break up the righties with Falter and Heaney and he said it probably won't be clear until after the second time through the rotation, but he's considering all options.

Several young arms are also ready and waiting in the minor leagues. Bubba Chandler, the organization's top prospect, is a candidate to join the Pirates at some point this season and Thomas Harrington, who was just reassigned to minor-league camp yesterday, also made an impression this spring. Braxton Ashcraft and Mike Burrows are two others waiting for their next opportunities as well. Despite the recent news surrounding Jones, this group still remains ready to carry the torch for the Pirates and they surely have the talent to do so.

"We're very confident. I feel like we've got nothing but arms here. Elite arms here, from the big leagues, all the way down to Double-A and Triple-A," Falter said after his final spring start. "I feel like we've got a lot of good arms, good prospects and young talent. The pitching department, we're going to be in a really good spot this year."