Pirates' Paul Skenes Meets Baby Named After Him
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PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes has only just begun his MLB career, but already has some of the most dedicated fans in baseball.
Skenes and the Pirates returned back to PNC Park from a west coast trip vs. the Los Angeles Angels and the Los Angeles Dodgers, as they started their next series vs. the Chicago Cubs on April 29.
Prior to the game, Skenes signed autographs and met a couple, who brought their baby with them. They let the Pirates' ace pitcher know that they named their baby "Skenes" after him, holding up a sign reading "We Named Our Son After You Skenes!"
Paul Skenes met the couple and signed a Pirates cap and a baseball for them, smiling through a beautiful interaction.
Baby Paul Skenes making an appearance at PNC Park earlier today. @Pirates @WTAE pic.twitter.com/ytbMpjjSQG
— Ashley Liotus (@AshleyLiotus) April 29, 2025
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, giving up just 23 earned runs and seven earned runs, while notching 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 at the time.
Skenes dominated in the minor leagues and soon made it up to the majors on May 11, 2024.
He started 23 games, had a 1.96 ERA in 133 innings, allowed just 29 earned runs, 94 hits, six home runs and 32 walks, while recording 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 was also just the fifth rookie to start an All-Star game, with Hideo Nomo of the Los Angeles Dodgers last doing so before him in 1995, en route to winning NL Rookie of the Year.
He 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.
Skenes has continued his great play into this season, with a 3-2 record over six starts, a 2.39 ERA over 37.1 innings pitched, 39 strikeouts to four walks and an opposing batting average of .190.
He is also coming off his best performance of the season in a 3-0 win over the Dodgers on April 25. He pitched 6.1 innings, allowing just five hits, no walks and no runs, while posting a season-high nine strikeouts over a career-high 108 pitches.
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.