Unless you have been living under a rock you should know who Paul Skenes is…that is if you are indeed a baseball fan like me. You might have watched the All Star game and saw him start for the National League but let’s assume you aren’t as big of a baseball nerd as I am so let’s dive into his last 12 months.
22-year old Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes
photo source: mlb.com
Last year Skenes pitched for the National Champion LSU Tigers. Prior to that, he was actually enlisted in the Air Force. He transferred to LSU prior to their championship run which is kinda weird. You don’t hear too many players in any sport transfer from one of the service academies to a traditional school. Not only was he a dominate pitcher but he was an amazing hitter as well. His final season at LSU he measured in at 6’6” and 247 pounds. I am sure Brian Kelly would have loved to have him on the football team at that size. He’s a horse for sure! His final stat line was 13-2, 1.69 era, 209 strike outs, and 122.2 innings pitched. That’s right…209 strike outs in 122 innings pitched. That is an INSANE stat line! Coming of the National Championship he was drafted number one overall to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Even if his year stopped there and he spent this season in the minors I would say that is an awesome year for sure.
Let’s fast forward to Spring Training. He got an invite and continued to show why he was the number one overall pick. He made a very good case to break camp with the big team, but he was ultimately sent down to the minors to work on some stff. Basically, they were wanting him to gain experience and work on going deeper into starts. The Pirates were limiting his starts to 3 innings to start the season. This gradually increased to 4, then 5, and then 6 while working towards that 100-pitch area. Then he finally got the call. He made his Major League debut on May 11th against the Cubs. It wasn’t the start I think a lot of fans expected but he pitched well. He went 4 innings, allowing 3 runs and striking out 7. Worry not my friends, this was just the start of things. His stat line, as I write this is 6-0, 1.90 era and 89 strike outs earning him the start in the All Star game. That’s right. Someone who was in the College World Series last year started the All Star game. That is unheard of!
Now I asked if he has had the best baseball year ever…but I don’t think his story is done for 2024. His Pirates are actually in playoff contention and if I had a vote for the NL Cy Young award he would get my vote. If you haven’t had a chance to see him pitch you need to. He is must-watch television. He has had two starts where he went at least 6 innings not allowing a hit. The Pirates are keeping a strict eye on his pitch counts as well as innings but if that wasn’t the case I have a very good feeling we would have seen at least one no hitter out of him…as a rookie! He throws 103 mph and has nasty breaking pitches. He pitches and not just throws fast. He is the real deal, and I have a feeling we are seeing the next dominate player in the MLB. I will write about him again towards the end of the season to see what we can add to this amazing story!
***** Until next time, checkout The Turbo and 2ks show wherever you get your podcast content or go to www.youtube.com/turboand2ks.
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