Pirates' Pitchers Fantasy Baseball Preview | Paul Skenes, Jared Jones, David Bednar, Mitch Keller, Andrew Heaney and More

We're steadily knocking off MLB teams in our fantasy baseball team preview series.

Next up are the Pittsburgh Pirates, and we'll start by looking at the team's pitching. Check back soon for the writeup on the team's hitters.

We've covered the Seattle Mariners (hitters and pitchers), Colorado Rockies (hitters and pitchers), Tampa Bay Rays (hitters and pitchers), Atlanta Braves (hitters and pitchers) and Chicago White Sox (hitters and pitchers) already.

Check out Fantasy Baseball Average Draft Position data for 2025 and get ready for your fantasy drafts by utilizing the FantasySP Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft Simulator. Also be sure to check out the FantasySP 2025 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit!

Top Fantasy Pitchers

There's several Pirates appearing on the FantasySP Average Draft Position list so far, including a couple of pitchers.

Paul Skenes leads the way, being drafted at pick 11.88 on average so far.

Closer David Bednar is going at pick 134.47 on average, while starter Jared Jones is at pick 136.29. Mitch Keller is the other Pittsburgh player listed, going around pick 158.92 so far.

Skenes was fantasy SP17 in points leagues a season ago. That was all while making just 23 starts.

Skenes finished 11-3 with an absurd 1.96 earned run average. He struck out a whopping 170 batters over 133 innings pitched.

Skenes lived up to the hype, and then some, in his rookie campaign, and is now viewed as the No. 2 fantasy starting pitcher behind only Tarik Skubal. There's only a pick or so separating the two starters.

Pittsburgh should unleash Skenes a bit more this season. More starts already meant a chance to win more games, cover more innings and strike out more batters, but if he's allowed to pitch deeper into some games, Skenes could tack on even more innings and strikeouts.

I prefer Skubal over Skenes in redraft leagues for 2025, but it's ultra close. Skenes is the top dynasty pitcher, and should remain a top-end fantasy option for years to come as long as his health holds up.

Keller is projected to be the team's No. 2 starting pitcher in 2025. 

In 2024, Keller had similar numbers to the ones he posted in 2023, but ended up with a little less in most stats. In 31 starts last year, Keller went 11-12 with a 4.25 ERA. He struck out just 166 batters in 178 innings after having 210 punchouts over 194 1/3 innings in 2023.

There's bounceback potential with Keller for sure, and he's not being drafted all that high, so there's some fantasy value in taking him for sure. As long as his ADP doesn't rise two or more rounds, Keller is a pretty good depth option to take a chance on.

Jones is projected to be the team's No. 3 starter after a good showing in his rookie season. He became a little underrated with Skenes stealing all the headlines.

In 22 starts last year, Jones went 6-8 with a 4.14 ERA. He struck out 132 batters over 121 2/3 innings. 

He had four starts where he allowed five or more runs, but was under three in every other start, so if he can limit the blowup outings more often, he's got a chance for a big fantasy season. I think his ADP is pretty respectable, and wouldn't anticipate it getting a whole lot better before the season. I'm fine taking him as an end-of-the-fantasy-rotation pick.

Bednar had an extremely rough showing in 2024, but that makes him a big bounceback candidate for 2025.

In 62 games, Bednar had a 5.77 ERA, a 3-8 record and just 23 saves. He struck out 58 batters over 57 2/3 innings. Bednar has a career 3.36 ERA and averages 10.7 punchouts per nine innings, so there's plenty of reason in just those two stats to expect better results in 2025.

There's not a ton of risk taking Bednar around his current ADP, and I wouldn't anticipate it getting much better before the season either. He's a good secondary closer option - just make sure you aren't relying on him.

Other Starting Options

According to FanGraphs, Andrew Heaney and Bailey Falter are expected to fill out the team's starting rotation. 

Dennis Santana and Colin Holderman are setup guys for Bednar. Carmen Mlodzinski, Caleb Ferguson, Kyle Nicolas and Tim Mayza are other bullpen options, while Joey Wentz is the long reliever. Dauri Moreta is another bullpen open once he returns from the 60-day injured list.

Falter made 28 starts for the Pirates in 2024, going 8-9 and posting a 4.43 ERA. Those are respectable numbers, but his 97 strikeouts over 142 1/3 innings leave plenty to be desired.

Falter is an option in deep fantasy leagues, but unless the strikeouts jump way up, it's unlikely he's ever a standard league option.

Heaney just signed with the Pirates after spending the 2023-24 seasons with the Rangers. In 32 games and 31 starts last season, Heaney went 5-14 with a 4.28 ERA. Heaney had 159 strikeouts over 160 innings.

Heaney will open the season as a deep-league fantasy option, but is a much better standard league possibility than Falter. Heaney could be a streaming option against weaker-hitting teams, especially if the pitcher is putting up decent numbers himself.

Wentz is likely to only become a deep-league fantasy option if he's pitching really well, or joins the rotation after an injury to a member of the five-man rotation.

Santana had a 2.44 ERA last season, and with 50 punchouts over 44 1/3 innings, there's a little fantasy value there if he can keep his ERA low and pitch more. He could be the first guy to get a crack at the closer role if Bednar struggles or gets injured.

Holderman had a 3.16 ERA and 56 strikeouts over 51 1/3 innings last season. He'd be another closer option, but already has a little appeal in deep leagues.

Moreta could be another late-inning option if he can return to his 2023 form. He missed the entire 2024 season, but had 76 punchouts over 58 frames in 2023, so there's some fantasy value with him.

The other relievers on the team aren't likely to be big-time fantasy assets this season. 

Top Prospects

Bubba Chandler (No. 15) and Thomas Harrington (No. 80) are both on the top-100 list.

Chandler is expected to debut this season. He has a career 3.61 ERA across three minor league seasons. Chandler has 336 strikeouts over 272 innings, so he could have some fantasy value when he gets the call.

Harrington is also expected to debut in 2025. He has a 3.09 ERA across two minor league seasons. Harrington has 261 strikeouts over 244 2/3 innings, so there's maybe not as much fantasy upside in strikeouts, but the lower ERA could make Harrington a decent fantasy asset as well.

Braxton Ashcraft and Mike Burrows are two more of the team's top-30 prospects from the end of last season who could factor in this season.

Ashcraft has a career 3.94 ERA across parts of five minor league seasons. He has a sub 3.00 ERA the past two seasons, and 232 strikeouts over 235 career innings.

Burrow pitched 3 1/3 MLB innings in 2024, earning a win in his lone appearance. He's got a career 3.72 minor league ERA, and could be another call up option if there's an injury or struggles in the rotation or bullpen.

Sean Sullivan, Hunter Barco, Anthony Solometo and Eddy Yean are a few more pitchers age 25 or younger who are in big league camp this spring.