Ahead of Paul Skenes’ highly anticipated Pittsburgh Pirates debut on Saturday, former ‘Bucs ace Gerrit Cole has some advice for his former team.
Heading into the MLB games today there is a lot of excitement about the Pirates game against rivals the Chicago Cubs. The 17-22 team has been on an uphill climb to get back to .500 this season but there is renewed hope, and its name is Paul Skenes.
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The top overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft has stormed through their farm system in less than a year using a 100 MPH fastball, a nasty slide, and a new pitch called the “Splinker.” He is also not just the top player in the Pittsburgh minor league system but is ranked third on MLB.com’s top-100 prospects list for 2024.
Gerrit Cole understands the pressure Skenes is under heading into Saturday’s game. He was also the top overall pick in the 2011 draft by the organization and had a similar hype around him when he made his big league debut. However, despite being a one-time All-Star in Pittsburgh, Cole needed to leave the organization to really spread his wings as an ace pitcher.
That is part of why he was asked about Skenes’ debut during a conversation with the New York Post this week. And he offered up some advice to the organization about the stud pitcher: Just let him go out there and throw a lot of pitches.
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Gerrit Cole wants to see the Pittsburgh Pirates give Paul Skenes as many reps as possible
“We don’t know how good this guy is. Nobody does. He could break the whole mold. He could be the greatest of all time. Why hold him back?” Cole asked. “Let him throw more, let him throw 98 [mph] instead of 102. If you limit him to 60 [pitches], he’s gonna go 103 [mph]. Let the horse run. Stretch him out. You’ve got a window now where you can develop him.”
Gerrit Cole holds no ill will toward his former team and is hoping the super-prospect can evolve into the future ace the hype around him suggests he can be.
“I’m just rooting for him to make it,” Cole said. “Some can just pick up a ball and throw it like that. I’d say it’s safe to say he has one of those kinds of arms and now we’re in an environment that allows you to max out sooner.”
