Fastball

Top Overall Draft Pick Paul Skenes Will Not Pitch Again This Season

The Pittsburgh Pirates have placed No. 1 overall draft pick Paul Skenes on the "development list," and he will not pitch again this season.
Brady Farkas|
Top Overall Draft Pick Paul Skenes Will Not Pitch Again This Season
Top Overall Draft Pick Paul Skenes Will Not Pitch Again This Season

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Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates have shut down No. 1 overall draft pick Paul Skenes by placing him on the "development list." They have announced that they will focus on getting him ready for 2024.

Per the Pirates:

"We're excited and encouraged by the positive things that Paul has been able to accomplish in his short time in the Pirates organization. He's checked all of the boxes we aimed for him to check during the 2023 season.

The goal now is to focus on a complete off-season in preparation for his first full professional year in 2024."

Skenes was taken No. 1 overall this past July after putting together a historic run at LSU. He helped lead the Tigers to the College World Series championship by going 12-2 this year with 209 strikeouts in 122.2 innings.

He had an ERA of 1.69 and is the single-season strikeout leader for the SEC.

He ends his first minor league season by giving up four earned runs across 6.2 innings. He struck out 10 and reached as high as Double-A.

He is the No. 3 overall prospect in baseball. The following comes from his MLB.com prospect profile:

After working at 93-95 mph and touching 99 with his fastball as a sophomore, Skenes averaged 98 mph and hit 102 at LSU, with the flat approach angle and carry on his heater making it almost impossible to hit. His slider improved under the tutelage of Tigers pitching coach Wes Johnson, becoming an 85-89 mph beast with sharp break and absurd swing-and-miss and chase rates. His power changeup arrives at 88-93 mph with fade and is a solid offering when he lands it in the strike zone. 

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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