The Pittsburgh Pirates are finally biting the bullet and calling up 2023 No. 1 pick Paul Skenes from Triple-A Indianapolis.
The former LSU star will make his MLB debut Saturday at home against the division-rival Chicago Cubs. This comes amid major pressure from those around the baseball community for Pittsburgh to finally call up the 6-foot-6 right-handed pitcher.
For their part, the Pirates released an entire hype video in making the announcement on Wednesday.
Skenes, 21, headed into this season as MLB.com’s No. 3 overall prospect behind Jackson Holliday (Baltimore Orioles) and Jackson Chourio (Milwaukee Brewers). He’s considered the top pitching prospect in baseball and had been dominating minor league hitting.
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What Paul Skenes brings to the Pittsburgh Pirates
At 17-20 on the season, pitching has been somewhat of a strength for the Pirates. Jared Jones (2.63 ERA, 0.78 WHIP), Martin Perez (3.15 ERA, 1.38 WHIP) and Marco Gonzales (2.65 ERA, 1.18 WHIP) have all looked good.
But with Gonzales currently on the injured list, it was a perfect time to call up Skenes. As noted above, he’s been filthy against lower-leve competition.
- Paul Skenes stats (2024): 0-0 record, 0.99 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 45 strikeouts in 27.1 innings
This move comes well less than a calendar year after Pittsburgh made Skenes the No. 1 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. But the kid certainly has that it factor.