Pirates Manager Reveals Paul Skenes' Workload
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have one of the best pitchers in baseball in Paul Skenes and he will start his first full season in the MLB.
Skenes starred at LSU in 2023, after transferring from Air Force. He had a 13-2 record in 19 starts, 1.69 ERA in 122.2 innings pitched, gave up just 23 earned runs and seven earned runs, while making 209 strikeouts to just 20 walks, leading the program to a National Title that season.
He would enter the 2023 MLB Draft, where the Pirates took him with the No. 1 overall pick. He also signed with the franchise on a $9.2 million signing bonus, the highest ever given to a player.
Skenes dominated in the minor leagues and soon made it up to the majors on May 11 of the 2024 season.
He started 23 games, had a 1.96 ERA in 133.0 innings pitched, allowed just 29 earned runs, 94 hits, six home runs and 32 walks, while making 170 strikeouts and holding opposing hitting to a .198 batting average. He also had a 11.50 K/9 and a WHIP of 0.95.
He was also the first member of the Pirates to start for the National League in the All-Star Game since Jerry Reuss did it in 1975, 49 years ago. He is also just the fifth rookie to start an All-Star game, with Hideo Nomo of the Los Angeles Dodgers doing so in 1995, en route to winning NL Rookie of the Year.
Skenes also made the All-MLB First Team, won NL Rookie of the Year and finished third in the NL CY Young Award.
Coming up in May, Skenes pitched just 23 games, which is short of the normal 30-start season that teams generally expect out of their stars.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton spoke with Foul Territory about Skenes and if he can go that long in a season.
He said that he has full faith in Skenes doing so, and pointing to his last MLB start, two shutout innings vs. the New York Yankees, with three strikeouts, as one that will prepare him for 2025.
"Our hope is yes and I think one of the things we were really adamant about as a group and Ben and I especially, was like, he made that last start in New York," Shelton said.
"I mean, It was two innings. You can say what you want. Okay, we kept him at two innings. I felt really strongly like he needed to take that mound, prepare for that last start because guys don't know what the length of the season is.
"To answer that question, yes. The way he's built, the way he prepares. Until you go through a 30 start or 32 start season, you don't know, but I think he is built to pitch that way."
The @Pirates expect Paul Skenes to make 30 starts, says Manager Derek Shelton pic.twitter.com/a5gae1PylZ
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) February 25, 2025
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.