I am doing a series where I offer up three fantasy baseball thoughts for every MLB team. I’ll take a look at under-the-radar stats, playing time projections, projected roles, and off-season news to try and highlight the nuggets that might help you in your 2025 fantasy baseball drafts. We’ll do this thing in alphabetical order, and next up are three thoughts for the 2025 Pittsburgh Pirates.
3 Fantasy Baseball Thoughts for the 2025 Pittsburgh Pirates
I Hope You Didn’t Forget About Joey Bart
Let’s be clear. Joey Bart is never going to completely live up to the expectations when he was drafted at the top of the first round by San Francisco. The change of scenery to Pittsburgh appears to have had a positive impact on Bart though.
We saw Bart hit in the middle of the order last season, and he’s slated to open the season batting cleanup for Pittsburgh. Between that and the fact that he’s a catcher, he’s bound to be on our radar in the later rounds. This is limited more to two catcher leagues, but with truly regular playing time, Bart does have some larger upside.
In 80 games last year, Bart hit 13 home runs to go along with 45 RBI and 38 runs scored. Bart also hit a solid .265 as he made good use of his playing time. Additionally, he had a .198 ISO to go along with a 9.4% barrel rate.
Bart may never prove to be worthy of being the second overall pick. At this point, that’s alright as he’s not a complete bust either. With regular playing time, 20 home runs and 70 RBI wouldn’t be completely out of the realm of possibility. And that certainly plays from behind the plate.
The Best is Still to Come for Oneil Cruz
Considering the fact that Oneil Cruz is being drafted around pick 40, there is limited upside. The majority of his potential is already built into the draft day cost. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for more.
Cruz played the first complete season of his career with 146 games last year. Despite striking out 30.2% of the time, Cruz still hit .259 although his .266 xBA points to a little more upside. If he maintains a similar batting average, Cruz can be a five-category contributor.
Last season, Cruz hit 21 home runs while stealing 22 bases. It was the first time we truly saw Cruz’s speed translate to stolen bases as he drove in 76 runs while scoring 72.
Cruz’s 9.8-degree average launch angle will limit his true home run potential. Aside from that, it’s impossible to dispute his batted-ball skills. The quality of contact that Cruz makes is at the top of the league and it only serves to heighten our excitement for the shortstop. Not only did Cruz have an average exit velocity of 95.5 miles per hour, but his maximum exit velocity was 121.5 miles per hour. When you combine that with a 54.9% hard-hit rate and 15.7% barrel-rate, we are really in business.
Don’t Forget About Jared Jones
It shouldn’t be surprising, and it’s certainly warranted. However, Paul Skenes is monopolizing the attention in Pittsburgh’s rotation. We likely won’t see a debut like Skenes again, but we can’t let him overshadow the rest of the Pirates’ rotation. That’s especially the case when compared to Jared Jones. If it weren’t for Skenes, people would likely be focusing more on Jones. However, with an ADP of around 130, he’s not completely flying under the radar.
With an average fastball velocity of 97.4 miles per hour, Jones brings some serious heat to the table. It shouldn’t come as a surprise then that Jones struck out more than a batter per inning while pitching to a 4.14 ERA. He does have to keep the ball in the park with 1.33 home runs allowed per nine innings. However, a groundball rate of just 38.7% does create some issues here. While Jones might not be much more than a third or fourth fantasy starter, his other ERA metrics all sat between 3.78 and 4.05. That presents a solid floor entering 2025.
Jones had an above-average first-pitch strike rate of 62.5%. That played a factor in his success last year. One metric to keep an eye on was his 14.1% swinging strike rate which does stray close to an elite level. As he refines his stuff and adjusts to major league pitching, this could play a factor in Jones’ success.
For more of the great fantasy baseball rankings and analysis you’ve come to expect from FantraxHQ, check out our full 2025 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit! We’re here for you all the way up until Opening Day and then on into your championship run.
