Top 10 breakout players early in the 2024 MLB season

Jared Jones, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates

Jones doesn’t quite have the eye-opening numbers that some of the other pitchers on this list do, but the rookie has had the looks of a potential future All-Star through the first seven starts of his career and could eventually form a dynamic starting duo at the top of the Pirates’ rotation with touted prospect Paul Skenes. On the season, Jones has gone 2-3 with a 2.63 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP. The most impressive aspect of the 22-year-old’s game has been his ability to get hitters to swing and miss, as he ranks in the top five in the league with 52 strikeouts. With just five walks on the year, he is the first pitcher in over a century with 50 or more strikeouts and five or fewer walks across his first seven career starts. There could be bumps in the road ahead for the young pitcher on a Pirates team that has struggled of late, but he has proven intriguing upside early in his career.