Chicago Cubs Slugger Has High Praise For Paul Skenes, Makes Joke About Livvy Dunne

Speaking with a Japanese outlet, Seiya Suzuki discussed how impressed he is with Skenes and had some fun at his expense too.

Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki (27) gets ready for a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on March 3. | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Speaking with a Japanese outlet recently, Chicago Cubs slugger Seiya Suzuki had some high praise for Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, while also having some fun at his expense.

Check out the exchange, which was put out on social media the Yakyu Cosmopolitan:

Seiya Suzuki on which MLB pitcher has impressed him the most:

“Paul Skenes. No doubt.”

Suzuki: He throws 102 and has a new pitch called a splinker.

Uehara: What’s with all the new pitch names? I threw a pitch just like that.

Suzuki: Well, his also has velocity.

Uehara: (joking) Hey don’t say that! So is it different from a two-seamer?

Suzuki: It’s a little different. The spin is much more like an actual splitter but it’s 98. I’ve struck out against him numerous times. It’s fun though. I want to homer off him this year.

Uehara: Isn’t he dating someone famous (Livvy Dunne)? She’s like a model or Instagrammer.

Suzuki: Gymnast I think. She’s more popular than him.

Seiya Suzuki on which MLB pitcher has impressed him the most:

“Paul Skenes. No doubt.”

Suzuki: He throws 102 and has a new pitch called a splinker.

Uehara: What’s with all the new pitch names? I threw a pitch just like that.

Suzuki: Well, his also has velocity.

Uehara:… pic.twitter.com/Fp3mTXUPDo

— Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@yakyucosmo) March 4, 2025

Now, Skenes and Dunne are both pretty famous, though Dunne probably does have some mainstream pop culture appeal, given her social media presence and presence in commercials for brands like Vuori. They have become the baseball version of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, though not quite at that level.

From a baseball perspective, it's incredibly impressive that Skenes has already made this kind of impact on Suzuki after just one year in the big leagues.

Skenes finished his rookie season at 11-3 with that 1.96 ERA. He struck out 170 batters in just 133.0 innings and looked every bit the part of an ace moving into 2025. The former No. 1 pick in the draft (2023), Skenes made his major league debut in early May after just a handful of minor league starts and ended up finishing as a finalist for the National League Cy Young. He won the Rookie of the Year.

Suzuki, 30, is headed into his fourth season since coming over from Japan. He is a .278 hitter with 55 homers in his career. He hit 21 last season for the Cubs with 73 RBI and 16 stolen bases.

The Cubs and Pirates will play 13 times this season.

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