Pirates select Southern California H.S. pitcher Jared Jones in 2nd round of MLB Draft

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Southern California high school pitcher Jared Jones with their second-round pick (No. 44 overall) on Thursday in the MLB Draft.

The 6-foot-2, 175-pound right-hander from La Mirada High School, a University of Texas recruit, has a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and a plus-slider but needs to work on his command.

With their 2nd-round pick (No. 44 overall) of the 2020 #MLBDraft, the #Pirates select La Mirada HS RHP Jared Jones, No. 55 on the Top 200 Draft Prospects list: https://t.co/WCxgBPRj4K

Watch live: https://t.co/cmm19LFrdg pic.twitter.com/ksVca7avc0

— MLB Draft (@MLBDraft) June 11, 2020

Jones was 2-1 with a 0.82 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 17 innings this spring before his season was stopped because of the coronavirus crisis. He was 7-1 with a 0.77 ERA as a junior and 7-2 with a 0.80 ERA as a sophomore.

We've got good news for #Pirates fans.

Jared Jones was our top-ranked sleeper in the draft ?

Full story: https://t.co/sHUaRajiEp pic.twitter.com/ZkZ9Z7uO8A

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) June 11, 2020

Congratulations to 2-time #UAAllAmerica RHP @jared_jones_17 being selected. The @Pirates get an electric arm!@BaseballFactory pic.twitter.com/nchnugIUKS

— Baseball Factory (@BaseballFactory) June 11, 2020

“He’s got exceptional rhythm in his delivery,” MLB Network draft analyst Dan O’Dowd said on the draft broadcast. “Some effort in his delivery. He’s a great competitor who started to make big strides in his fastball command. There’s simply a lot to like about this kid. He’s got one of the higher upsides of anyone in this year’s draft.”