Skenes came away with a no-decision in Saturday's 10-9 win over the Cubs, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks over four-plus innings. He struck out seven.
The 21-year-old right-hander displayed some nerves in his big-league debut, throwing only 54 of 84 pitches for strikes, but he flashed his upside right out of the gate by hitting triple digits on the radar gun on his first two career pitches and reaching 100 mph on five fastballs in total against the first batter he faced, eventually striking out Chicago leadoff man Mike Tauchman on a 100.9 mph four-seamer. Skenes isn't heading back to the minors any time soon, and his next start should come on the road next week in a rematch with the Cubs.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: Set for big-league debut
Rotowire
Skenes' contract was purchased from Triple-A Indianapolis ahead of his big-league debut Saturday against the Cubs.
Skenes is the best pitching prospect to come along in over a decade, and his big-league debut is as highly anticipated as any pitching prospect's debut in recent memory. The big 6-foot-6 righty not only had the best statistical performance of any starter in the minors this year, but he has the best pure stuff as well. Skenes logged a 0.99 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, a 42.9 percent strikeout rate and a 7.6 percent walk rate in 27.1 innings at Triple-A. He has averaged just under five innings per start over his last three starts, but after throwing 129.1 innings in 2023, he should be able to push toward 160 total innings this year with good health.
The Pirates announced that Skenes will be promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis to start Saturday against the Cubs at PNC Park.
Skenes likely won't be officially added to the 40-man roster and 26-man active roster until Saturday in advance of what should be one of the most highly anticipated MLB debuts for a pitching prospect in recent memory. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft, Skenes has been utterly dominant through his first seven starts at Indianapolis this season, pitching to a 0.99 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 45:8 K:BB over 27.1 innings. While he shouldn't be expected to immediately replicate the sterling ratios he produced in the minors, the flame-throwing right-hander should continue to make bats miss at a high clip as he makes the jump to the majors. The Pirates haven't revealed what the impending addition of Skenes means for the rest of the pitching staff, but the club could move to a six-man rotation to help keep the prized 21-year-old's workload in check during the 2024 season.
Pirates' Paul Skenes: Next outing will be at Triple-A
Rotowire
Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Monday that Skenes is scheduled to make another start with Triple-A Indianapolis this week, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
Skenes' last start with Indianapolis was his first this season on regular rest, and he wasn't as dominant as he had been, yielding two runs on three hits and a 4:2 K:BB over 4.1 innings. He threw 66 pitches in the outing. The top prospect's major-league debut should be coming sooner rather than later, but the Pirates have opted to give him at least one more start in the minors. Skenes boasts a 0.99 ERA and 45:8 K:BB across 27.1 frames in 2024.
