Pirates' Paul Skenes Visits Former Coach's New Team
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PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes made a visit to one of the better college baseball programs in the country, just a quick trip down south.
Skenes visited the West Virginia Baseball Biomechanics & Performance Center in Morgantown, WV, meeting with the team, and also doing a quick pitching session.
Paul Skenes 🤝 WVU Baseball
— WVU Baseball (@WVUBaseball) August 21, 2025
Thanks for visiting @WVUbiomechanics and talking with the team! Welcome back anytime! pic.twitter.com/qRcjDUN3mY
Skenes has a personal connection with Mountaineers assistant coach Jimmy Roesinger, who was a coach of his when he pitched at Air Force (2021-22).
WVU has excelled in recent years, making three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and have won back-to-back NCAA Regionals, earning a spot in the Super Regionals.
Paul Skenes in the BPC. pic.twitter.com/YQlYPeAfKd
— WVU Baseball Biomechanics & Performance Center (@WVUbiomechanics) August 21, 2025
Current Mountaineers in the MLB include St.Louis Cardinals outfielder Victor Scott II, Guardians left-handed pitcher John Means, Toronto Blue Jays right-handed pitcher Alex Manoah, Los Angeles Dodgers right-handed pitcher Michael Grove, Kansas City Royals right-handed pitcher Ryan Bergert and Baltimore Orioles right-handed pitcher Kade Strowd.
Infielder J.J. Wetherholt, who MLB Pipeline ranks as the sixth best prospect in baseball, starred for WVU and is currently at Triple-AAA Memphis in the Cardinals organization.
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 was 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 for his performance in 2024, won NL Rookie of the Year and was a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award.
He has continued his impressive play into 2025, with the lowest ERA (2.16) in the MLB, third lowest opposing batting average (.198), the fifth most strikeouts (174), the sixth lowest WHIP (0.96) and the seventh most innings pitched (154.0).
Skenes also started the All-Star Game this season, making him the first pitcher that started consecutive All-Star Games in the first two seasons in their career.
He will try and win his first NL Cy Young Award this season and is shaping up to be one of the best pitchers in baseball for years to come.
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.