Paul Skenes put on a show in his Triple-A debut
Jul 18, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes speaks a press conference before the Pirates play the Cleveland Guardians at PNC Park. Skenes was the Pirates first round pick and the overall number one pick in the 2023 MLB first year player draft. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Paul Skenes put on an absolute show in his Triple-A debut on Saturday.
Skenes pitched for the Indianapolis Indians, which is the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate. The 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick pitched three perfect innings with five strikeouts.
Paul Skenes in his AAA debut:
3 perfect innings, 5 K’s. pic.twitter.com/vEhO42eLhF
— Young Bucs (@YoungBucsPIT) March 30, 2024
29 of Skenes’ 46 pitches were strikes. 17 of his pitches were 99.5 mph or faster.
What a day from Paul Skenes: 3 IP, 5 K. Throws 46 pitches, 29 strikes. Seventeen went 99.5+ mph. Twelve whiffs.
Yeah, not bad.
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) March 30, 2024
Skenes is 6-foot-6, 235 pounds and an absolute flamethrower. If he puts together another outing or two like that in the minors, it probably won’t (and shouldn’t) be too long before the Pirates promote him to MLB.
Why have him waste all those 100-mph bullets in the minors?
After dominating at Air Force to begin his college career, Skenes transferred to LSU for the 2023 season. He went 13-2 with a 1.69 ERA and 0.75 WHIP in his lone season with the Tigers. So far, he’s only pitched 9.2 innings in the minor leagues. But if he keeps making hitters look foolish in Triple-A, the Pirates may feel compelled to promote him.
