Who is Paul Skenes? The Pittsburgh super prospect’s name has been growing around baseball circles in recent days due to his imminent MLB debut. Well, we are here to explain the massive hype and why he could be the next great picture in the big leagues.
While other small market clubs like the Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Guardians, and Baltimore Orioles have returned to prominence after years spent trying to rebuild their talent level from the ground up, Pittsburgh Pirates fans have had little to cheer about over the last 30-plus years. Outside of a pair of seasons with over 90 wins, the franchise remains among the worst in the league.
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- Paul Skenes stats (2024 Triple-A): 7 stats, 0-0 record, 0.99 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 45 strikeouts, 27.1 innings pitched
However, there is renewed hope in the Steel City, and his name is Paul Skenes. The No. 1 prospect in the Pirates system is set to make his big league debut this Saturday in a home game against division rivals the Chicago Cubs. The 21-year-old has swept through Pittsburgh’s minor leagues in a year and has developed a huge amount of buzz ahead of his MLB debut.
Let’s take a look at why there is so much hype around Skenes, the gifted pitcher who is the originator of the “Splinker.”
4 reasons why the hype about Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Paul Skenes is so huge
Paul Skenes is the third-highest-ranked prospect in all of MLB
Not only is Paul Skenes the top prospect in the Pirates minor leagues — which is top 10 in MLB — he is ranked third overall in baseball on MLB.com. He is only behind highly-touted Orioles talent Jackson Holliday, and young Brewers star Jackson Chourio. A player Milwaukee already gave a $82 million extension to last year.
That just shows how elite he is among the best prospects in the game and why his debut is a big deal.
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Skenes’ stuff is filthy but he also a pretty good athlete
The simplest cause for the hype surrounding Skenes is the youngster’s stuff is absolutely filthy. He throws a 100 MPH fastball consistently and pairs it with a nasty slider. Those two pitches helped him dominate the SEC with the LSU Tigers, led to being the top overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, and is why he stormed through the Pirates system in a year.
However, what makes him truly exciting is he is a pretty good athlete and can hit a little bit. Before transferring to LSU he was originally a catcher with Air Force where he hit .367 with 24 home runs and a 1.122 OPS over his two seasons with the academy.
While he may not be the next Shohei Ohtani, the 6-foot-6, 235 prospect is not your average pitcher and looks and plays the part of a dominant starter.
The Pirates super-prospect has created a new pitch
Paul Skenes has placed himself in a unique category by creating a brand new pitch, the “Splinker.” The two-seam fastball that reaches as high as 97 MPH runs in on hitters but then dives back over the plate at the last second. The cross between a split-finger fastball and a sinker is something he started working on at LSU and has developed to the point where it has become a normal part of his repertoire ahead of his Pirates debut.
Paul Skenes girlfriend
The biggest reason why Skenes has been a name that’s been growing in notoriety over the last year has nothing to do with baseball. And this is him dating social media superstar, and LSU alum, Livvy Dunne. She has over 13 million followers on Instagram and TikTok partially due to being one of the best young gymnasts in the country after winning a national title for the Tigers last year.
Her massive reach has elevated his mainstream profile and is a huge part of the unusual hype surrounding the young pitcher.
