Wolf Kitchen Hood 36

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At the beginning of the week, it appeared the Atlanta Braves would get their first look at both Pittsburgh Pirates SP Jared Jones and SP Paul Skenes. However, the Pirates opted to skip Jones start in their weekend visit to Truist Park. General manager Ben Cherington reiterated that the club intends to keep both of their fledgling aces active through the end of the season, but they'll each continue to have their workload managed by having extra rest between selected outings.

Both right-handers are just 22 years old, but Jones has been in the organization since 2021, while this is Skenes second season with the club. Jones posted 122 2/3 innings at High-A in 2022, then threw a combined 126 1/3 frames at Double-A and Triple-A last season. Meanwhile, Skenes tossed just 7 2/3 innings in the lower levels last season. However, the No.1 overall pick in the 2023 draft also compiled 122 2/3 innings in his senior year at Louisiana State University.

No formal innings limit has been reported for either hurler, though it makes sense for Jones to come closer to 150 innings while Skenes could be limited to around 130 this season. This leaves Jones with around 64 innings, which should comprise 11 or 12 starts to be distributed over the final 13 weeks of the season. Skenes started seven times for Triple-A Indianapolis before being called up, so he has logged 74 2/3 total frames so far this year. Perhaps it will be more, but the safe approach is expecting Skenes to notch only 55 or 60 additional stanzas, which should be 10 or 11 more outings, which includes Saturday against the Braves.

Jones' one week respite came at a good time. Over his first seven starts, Jones recorded a 2.63 ERA and .78 WHIP with a 33.8% strikeout rate and 3.2% walk rate. Anyone, let an alone a rookie would be hard-pressed to maintain that level. Sure enough, over his past eight efforts, Jones has slipped to a 4.60 ERA and 1.40 WHIP with a 20.8% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate. Not only does missing his start this weekend help manage his workload, but it also provides an opportunity for the freshman to regroup.

Skenes has yet to encounter a similar stretch of subpar efforts. He's only surrendered more than two runs twice. The first was in his debut when the Chicago Cubs scored three earned runs in four innings. In their rematch five days later, Skenes fired six scoreless stanzas with 11 punchouts. The other slight blip came when Skenes yielded three earned runs in five frames to the Los Angeles Dodgers, though he fanned eight while issuing just one free pass in that outing.

Saturday will be another big test for the rookie, the Braves offense has been sputtering. Even so, a lineup with Ozzie Albies, Matt Olson, Austin Riley and Marcell Ozuna is dangerous and new leadoff hitter Jerred Kelenic has out up a .333/.371/.579 line over his past 14 games heading into Friday's action.

The Pirates-Braves tilt is one of 11 matinees on the 15-game Saturday ledger. Action commences at 2:10 PM ET with the Chicago White Sox hosting the Colorado Rockies.

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To get the latest information on each team's bullpen hierarchy, as well as which pitchers might be facing a bit of fatigue and who might be the most likely suspects to vulture a save or pick up a surprise hold in their stead, check out the latest Closer Chart, which will be updated every morning. 

Plan ahead in fantasy baseball with help from our Forecaster projections. Each day, we will provide an updated preview of the next 10 days for every team, projecting the matchup quality for hitters (overall and by handedness) as well as for base stealers.

Best and worst hitters from the day are generated by THE BAT X, a projection system created by Derek Carty using advanced methods like those used in MLB front offices, accounting for a variety of factors including player talent, ballparks, bullpens, weather, umpires, defense, catcher pitch-framing, and lots more.