Pirates' Paul Skenes First Spring Training Start Revealed
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PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes has a long season ahead of him and will finally take the mound for the first time in 2026 against an opposing team.
The Pirates have Skenes scheduled for his first start in Spring Training, where he'll face the Atlanta Braves on the road at CoolToday Park in North Port, Fla. on Feb. 25, with first pitch set for 1:05 p.m.
He has already looked good so far in Spring Training, dominating Pirates hitters, including the likes of star prospect Konnor Griffin and new free agent signing Marcell Ozuna.
Skenes won't pitch in many more Grapefruit League games after this start, as he gears up for the World Baseball Classic with Team USA, which takes place March 6-17.
Before Skenes goes on to earn international glory, he'll use this start for the Pirates to prepare for the upcoming campaign.
Looking Back at Skenes' 2025 Season
It was an incredible first campaign for Skenes last year, as he won the 2025 National League Cy Young Award, just the third Pirates pitcher to do so.
Skenes had just a 10-10 record in 32 starts with the Pirates in 2025, but a 1.97 ERA over 187.2 innings pitched, 216 strikeouts to 42 walks, a .199 batting average allowed (BAA) and a 0.95 WHIP, along with a 10.36 K/9, a 2.01 BB/9 and a 5.14 K/BB.
He ranked amongst the best pitchers in MLB, with the lowest ERA, tied for the fourth most strikeouts, the fourth lowest WHIP, the sixth lowest batting average and the 10th most innings pitched, plus the fifth best K/BB, seventh best K/9 and ninth best BB/9.
His play made him the starting pitcher for the NL in the All-Star Game, becoming the first pitcher to start consecutive All-Star games in the first two seasons in the MLB.
He was the first NL pitcher with a sub-2.00 ERA and 200+ strikeouts since right-hander Jacob DeGrom did it with the Mets in 2018. He was the first MLB pitcher to finish with a sub-2.00 ERA in a season since right-hander Justin Verlander did so with the Houston Astros in 2022.
Skenes became the first pitcher in MLB history to finish with 200+ strikeouts and a sub-2.00 ERA and still not have a winning record, since ERA became a stat in 1913.
He was the first qualified pitcher to post a sub-2.00 ERA in a season at 23 years or younger, since right-hander Dwight Gooden did so at age 20 with the Mets in 1985.
Skenes also made Pirates history, with his 216 strikeouts the most for a right-handed pitcher in the live-ball era (since 1920). Only Ed Morris, who had 326 strikeouts in 1886 and 298 strikeouts in 1885, the most and second-most in a season in franchise history, has more than him.
His 216 strikeouts rank seventh-most in a season in franchise history and fifth most in the live-ball era.
Skenes is just one of three Pirates pitchers that led the MLB in ERA, with right-hander John Candelaria last doing so in 1977 and right-hander Cy Blanton doing it first in 1935, according to OptaStats.
He also had a great 2024 season, winning NL Rookie of the Year, and his 1.96 ERA over his first 55 starts is the lowest ever.
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.