Yankees GM Praises Pirates' Paul Skenes
In this story:
Few have entered the big leagues with higher expectations than Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes.
Skenes' performance in his final season at LSU was why he was viewed as one of the greatest pitching prospects in recent memory. New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman spoke about Skenes and said Yankees special assignment scout Jim Hendry saw the Pirates star and told him he's one of the best amateur prospects he's seen.
"Jim Hendry saw him in the draft and told me that's the best starter [he's] seen amateur-wise in 10-20 years," Cashman said. "Unfortunately, we didn't lose enough games to be in a position to pull that one. The statement in its own right because Jim Hendry is a hell of a scout, he's been doing amateur coverage for a long time and he told me back then in real time I saw the best starter I've seen and he's showed it."
Brian Cashman was asked about his impression of Paul Skenes
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) February 14, 2025
"Jim Hendry (Yankees special assistant) saw him in the draft and told him he's the best starter he's seen amateur-wise in 10-20 years. Unfortunately we didn't lose enough games to be in a position to pull that one" 😂 pic.twitter.com/kk1q78tkYM
Hendry was the Chicago Cubs' general manager from 2002 to 2011 before being hired by the Yankees as a special assignment scout in 2012.
Cashman got to see Skenes in his last start of the 2024 season. He proceeded to shut down the top of the Yankees' order in his brief outing, pitching two shutout innings and striking out three, including Juan Soto and Aaron Judge.
Skenes lived up to the billing and then some in his first season in the big leagues en route to winning the National League Rookie of the Year in 2024 and finishing third for the Cy Young Award, making him the fifth rookie to accomplish the feat and first since Jose Fernandez in 2013.
The 2023 No. 1 overall pick went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts while setting a Pirates franchise record for a rookie with 170 strikeouts over 133 innings. Skenes was also the first pitcher in MLB history to have an ERA below 2.20 and over 150 strikeouts in their first 21 games and the second pitcher since 1913 to have an ERA below 2.00 through their first 22 appearances.
The Pirates right-hander was also the first rookie pitcher to start an All-Star game since Hideo Nomo of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995.
Cashman also praised Pirates general manager Ben Cherington for how the organization went about drafting Skenes and noted that he isn't the only standout pitcher Pittsburgh has.
"Cherington did a great job of navigating and deciding to make that selection with his people," Cashman said. "It's going to benefit the city of Pittsburgh. He's obviously a beast [and] he's not the only one."
