Pirates Superstar Selected to Team USA for World Baseball Classic
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PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes will represent his country at the highest level.
Skenes announced on the MLB Network on May 13 that he will pitch for Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Paul Skenes will take the mound for Team USA in the 2026 #WorldBaseballClassic 🔥 pic.twitter.com/KjXJ95L3Un
— MLB (@MLB) May 13, 2025
He is only the second player that has announced that they will represent Team USA at the tournament, along with Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge, who will serve as captain.
Skenes dominated in the 2024 season after getting called up on May 11, showing the baseball world that he could do it at the highest level in the MLB.
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.
Skenes was 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.
He made the All-MLB First Team, won NL Rookie of the Year and finished third in the NL CY Young Award.
Skenes has kept up the performances this season, despite a 3-4 record in nine starts, as he has a 2.63 ERA over 54.2 innings pitched, 53 strikeouts to 15 walks and an opposing batting average of .201.
His best performances have come on the road against theTampa Bay Rays on April 2, where he allowed three hits and no earned runs, posting six strikeouts in a 4-2 win and then posting a season-high nine strikeouts over 6.1 innings and a career-high 108 pitches in a 3-0 victory over theLos Angeles Dodgers on April 25.
Team USA finished second in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, as Shohei Ohtani struckout Mike Trout in the final at-bat, securing the gold medal for Japan. Pirates right-handed pitcher David Bednar played for Team USA the last time out.
The 2026 World Baseball Classic will take place at loanDepot Park in Miami, home of the Miami Marlins, and Daikin Park in Houston, home of the Houston Astros. It will also take place at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico and the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.
Team USA won their only World Baseball Classic in 2017, with Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen as a member.
Manager Mark DeRosa will preside over his second World Baseball Classic with Team USA. Dates for the tournament are March 5-17, 2026.
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.