Pirates' Paul Skenes Hyped to Pitch for Team USA
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PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes has a big season coming for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2026, but he'll first represent Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.
Skenes is a part of a strong rotation and pitching staff overall for the United States this March. They look to win their first World Baseball Classic since 2017, after finishing second to Team Japan in the 2023 edition. He's taken great inspiration from the United States men's and women's hockey teams, who both won a gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, something that Skenes sees as regular for the nation and the sporting teams.
“Yeah, men’s hockey, women’s hockey, other golds that we won in the olympics. We’re America. We’ve got to assert our dominance over everybody else," Skenes said in a video from DK Pittsburgh Sports. "That’s what we do. It’s going to be fun. USA wins. It’s what we do. Got to keep it going.”
What Skenes is Looking Forward to at World Baseball Classic
Skenes is amongst some of the better pitchers in baseball on Team USA, who he'll get a chance to meet and speak with during the two weeks he is at the tournament.
This includes fellow Cy Young Award winner and 2025 American League starting pitcher in Tarik Subal of the Detroit Tigers, plus San Francisco Giants right-handed starter Logan Webb, who led the National League in strikeouts last season, is a two-time All-Star and won a Gold Glove Award in 2025
It also features All-Stars in right-handed pitchers in New York Mets' Clay Holmes, Minnesota Twins' Joe Ryan, New York Yankees' David Bednar and San Diego Padres' Mason Miller, plus Chicago Cubs left-handed starting pitcher Matthew Boyd.
Three-time NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw, who is retired, is coming back and will also pitch for Team USA.
Skenes said he will use this time he has with his USA teammates to learn from them, particularly Skubal and Kershaw,
“The All-Star game, you don’t have team dinners, you don’t have team flights, you don’t have any of that stuff. We do now, so there’s going to be two, two-and-a-half weeks to pick guys’ brains," Skenes said. "Talking to them is great, but seeing how they do and seeing how they operate is another thing. Aside from winning gold, that will be a pretty good little award for doing that.”
He has also pitched for Team USA before, first doing so back in 2014 with the 12U National Team that won silver at the COPABE Pan American Championships in Mazatlan, Mexico, and then pitched twice with the Collegiate National Team.
Skenes will pitch at an exhibition game, a game in pool play and then, assuming Team USA progresses to the knockout rounds, in one of those games as well.
“Looking forward to it. We didn’t win gold there, we didn’t win it when I was in college. So we have to go win gold this time”
Important Time for the Pirates and Skenes
Skenes isn't the only Pirates player going to the World Baseball Classic, as the franchise has 13 players competing and seven others on the 40-man roster.
This includes the Team Dominican Republic trio in center fielder Oneil Cruz, plus relief pitchers in right-hander Dennis Santana and left-hander Gregory Soto.
It also features infielders in Spencer Horwitz (Team Israel) and Nick Gonzales (Team Mexico), plus right-handed pitchers in Antwone Kelly (Team Netherlands) and Kyle Nicolas (Team Italy)
Skenes isn't happy to leave the Pirates, especially with high expectation for this season, but sees how playing in the WBC will benefit not just him, but his teammates too, as they get used to playing in high-pressure moments.
“It’s bittersweet," Skenes said. "I really, genuinely, don’t want to leave. If it were anything other than the WBC, I would be dreading leaving. I’m looking forward to it for sure, but we’re building something here that I think is going to be pretty special and I’m not forward to missing it in the heart of spring training.
"Obviously, I think we’ll be better for it. Having Oneil [Cruz] will go play, Kyle [Nicolas] and [Spencer] Horwitz. All the guys that are going to play in the tournament. I think we're going to be better off with them having some experience in those environments. I’m not looking forward to leaving."
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.