Chicago Cubs Set to Face Paul Skenes in Highly Anticipated MLB Debut

The Chicago Cubs will officially face top MLB pitching prospect Paul Skenes this weekend.

Dylan Sanders | May 8, 2024

Mar 3, 2024; North Port, Florida, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) in the fourth / Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

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Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs offense will get the first crack against top MLB pitching prospect Paul Skenes when they face the Pittsburgh Pirates later this weekend.

Pittsburgh announced the decision to call Skenes up on Wednesday afternoon and set Saturday, May 11 as his official debut date.

The 21-year-old was the first overall selection in the 2023 MLB draft and will graduate to the major leagues after less than half of a season in AAA ball.

It quickly became clear that the pitcher was far too advanced to stick around in the minors for too long, as he dominated his competition every time he stepped onto the mound.

In seven starts for the Illinois Indians, he has a 0.99 ERA and held his opponents to just a .175 batting average. He struck out an absurd 45 batters in just 27.1 innings of work.

A 14.82 K/9 may seem like a tall task to translate into the big leagues, has been close to the mark that he has set throughout his baseball career.

In his one season at LSU, he had a 2.05 ERA with a .750 WHIP and 209 total strikeouts en route to a NCAA championship.

The California native is known for his high velocity fastball but also posses a devastating slider. It's clear why he has been the most anticipated pitching prospect in a long time.

The Pirates pitching staff has already been very solid this season, so the extra help is not needed but will make them even more of a threat.

The Chicago offense has been in a bit of a slump, so it's not shocking that this is the time for Skenes to be called up. Over the last three weeks, the Cubs are ranked 15th in OPS,

Chicago will face the highly touted rookie this Saturday at 3:05 pm CT in PNC Park.

Published May 8, 2024

DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders