When the Pittsburgh Pirates broke camp in 2024, they made an uncharacteristically bold move by putting top pitching prospect Jared Jones on their Opening Day roster. For a franchise that’s often been cautious-some might say calculated-about service time with its young talent, that was a statement. And as we look ahead to 2026, there’s a growing sense that another young arm, Antwone Kelly, could be next in line to follow that same path.
Kelly, who was added to the 40-man roster this offseason, didn’t just earn that spot-he forced the issue with a breakout 2025 campaign. After a few underwhelming years in the lower minors, the 22-year-old right-hander turned a corner in a big way, delivering 107.1 innings between High-A Greensboro and Double-A Altoona with a 3.02 ERA, 2.89 FIP, and a WHIP of 1.06.
He struck out over 27% of the batters he faced while keeping his walk rate under 8%. That’s the kind of strikeout-to-walk ratio you want to see from a young starter with upside.
What really stands out is how Kelly elevated his raw stuff. His Stuff+ metric climbed to 108-good enough to place him among the top 150 pitchers in the minors-and Baseball America’s nStuff+ had him even higher at 117.
That’s not just a marginal improvement; it’s a clear sign that his arsenal is trending in the right direction. His fastball, in particular, has become a legitimate weapon, and that mid-to-upper-90s four-seamer now carries a 70 grade from scouts.
That pitch alone gives him a chance to miss bats at the highest level.
Of course, Kelly isn’t a carbon copy of Jared Jones, but the parallels are hard to ignore. Both will be 22 in their respective breakout years, both feature high-octane fastballs and hard sliders, and both have been projected at one point as future closers by Baseball America-only to prove they might offer more value as starters. For Kelly, that conversation is still ongoing.
Where the two differ is in depth and polish. Jones came up with a four-pitch mix-fastball, slider, curveball, changeup-and while his control was a question mark (graded at 45), his raw stuff was never in doubt.
Kelly, on the other hand, is working with three pitches: a plus fastball, an above-average changeup (graded at 55), and a slider that’s still developing. But he’s shown better command than Jones did at the same stage, with a projected control grade of 55.
That’s not nothing-it’s a foundational trait for a young starter trying to stick in a big-league rotation.
It’s also worth noting that Kelly has less upper-minors experience than Jones did before his debut. Jones had already logged over 80 innings in Triple-A by the end of 2023.
Kelly, meanwhile, only reached Double-A in 2025 and tossed 48 innings there. That makes spring training 2026 a pivotal proving ground for him.
Now, the Pirates’ rotation picture is a bit more crowded than it was two years ago. Back in 2024, the team entered the season with Mitch Keller, Marco Gonzales, Martín Pérez, and Bailey Falter headlining a rotation that was, frankly, thin.
That opened the door for Jones. Fast forward to now, and the Pirates are in a different spot.
Keller is still the anchor, but he’s now joined by Paul Skenes, Bubba Chandler, and Braxton Ashcraft. That leaves one rotation spot up for grabs-and a whole lot of competition for it.
Kelly will be in the mix, but he’s not alone. Mike Burrows, who impressed as a rookie in 2025, is in the hunt.
So is Hunter Barco, another high-upside arm. Thomas Harrington, once a top prospect himself, is still looking to carve out a role.
And then there’s Wilber Dotel, who, like Kelly, was just added to the 40-man roster. Jared Jones might also be back in the conversation depending on how he rebounds from internal brace surgery-a less invasive alternative to Tommy John that’s becoming more common, as we saw with Spencer Strider in Atlanta.
But Kelly brings something to the table that few others do: a fastball that can dominate and the control to wield it effectively. That’s a rare combo, and it gives him a real shot to make noise this spring. If he can continue to refine his changeup and tighten up the slider, the Pirates might find themselves with another young arm ready to break through.
The big question is whether Kelly can round out his arsenal enough to stick as a starter long-term. Right now, his repertoire is more limited than some of his rotation competitors.
But he’s shown he can improve-just look at the leap his fastball took in 2025. If he can take a similar step forward with one of his secondaries, he could be a legitimate rotation piece, not just a stopgap or bullpen fallback.
It’s going to come down to performance in spring training, just like it did for Jones in 2024. That spring, Jones put up a 2.25 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 12 innings-numbers that left the Pirates with no choice but to bring him north. Kelly may need a similarly loud spring to crack the Opening Day roster, but he’s earned the opportunity to compete for it.
The Pirates have more depth now, more options, and more expectations. But Antwone Kelly has shown enough to be in that conversation. And if he looks anything like he did in 2025, he might just pitch his way into Pittsburgh’s plans sooner rather than later.