Paul Skenes Finally Allowed a Run at Triple-A on Wednesday Night
Baseball's top pitching prospect Paul Skenes, finally allowed a run at Triple-A on Wednesday night, though he still struck out seven for the Pittsburgh Pirates' Indianapolis affiliate.
Pitching at Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday night, Pittsburgh Pirates' top prospect Paul Skenes finally allowed a run.
With just over 12 scoreless innings entering Wednesday's game against Omaha, Skenes allowed one run on five hits over 4.1 innings. He still struck out seven and walked just one.
In 14.1 innings this season at Triple-A, Skenes has a 0.64 ERA with a 29/5 strikeout-to-walk-ratio.
He's the best prospect in the Pirates organization and the top pitching prospect in all of baseball, but the Pirates haven't given any indication as to when he'll be up in the big leagues yet. They say they don't want to rush his development and they've been very careful with his workload.
The No. 1 pick in the draft from last season threw 71 pitches on Wednesday, which was a season-high. The Pirates are currently 13-12 on the season and in fourth place in the National League Central. They do have an opening in the rotation because of the injury to Marco Gonzalez, so perhaps Skenes will be an option for that spot if the injury lasts.
The following comes from a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:
Skenes’ velocity started to spike during the fall at LSU. It carried over to his incredible spring in Baton Rouge, averaging 98 mph and topping out at 102 mph with his fastball, with a flat approach angle and carry that make it very difficult to hit, as evidenced by a 30 percent miss rate on it last spring. His slider turned into the best secondary pitch in the class. In the Minors, it's thrown largely in the upper 80s with sharp break that elicited ridiculous swing-and-miss rates (62 percent). His 89-93 mph changeup might be his third pitch, but don’t be surprised if it’s a third plus pitch as a pro as he learns to land the fading offspeed offering in the zone more consistently.
Follow Fastball on FanNation on social media
Continue to follow our Fastball on FanNation coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.
