After an overpowering pro debut last week, right-hander Paul Skenes, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 Draft, is ready to take the next step in his baseball journey.
He will take the mound Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. ET for the Bradenton Marauders, the Pirates’ Single-A affiliate, and you can watch every pitch delivered by MLB’s No. 3 prospect for free. Skenes’ matchup with the Lakeland Flying Tigers is the Minor League Free Game of the Day on MLB.com and will also be available on MLB.TV.
Skenes has a trio of plus pitches, but his calling card is an 80-grade fastball that routinely reaches 100 mph. That fantastic four-seamer was on full display when Skenes made his first professional appearance Thursday for the Rookie-level Florida Coast League Pirates.
He fired 11 pitches and eight strikes over one perfect inning of work against the FCL Twins. All but one of his offerings were fastballs that ranged between 99 and 101 mph. Skenes finished his quick frame with a strikeout of this year’s No. 5 overall Draft pick, Walker Jenkins, on a 99-mph heater.
The best college pitching prospect since Stephen Strasburg in 2009, the 6-foot-6 Skenes led Division I in strikeouts (209) and WHIP (0.75) this season while leading the LSU Tigers to an NCAA national championship. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series just two weeks before the Pirates selected him with the top pick in the Draft.
“It means a lot to be the first overall pick,” Skenes said. “I’m just looking forward to what’s to come with playing baseball and hopefully winning a World Series or two in Pittsburgh.”
Besides that triple-digit fastball, Skenes is armed with a sharp, high-80s slider that earned a 70 grade from MLB Pipeline. He also owns a power changeup that can hit 93 mph.
Skenes said shortly after he was drafted that he thinks his stuff is Major League-ready, but Pittsburgh will take it slow with its future ace. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday that the club will be “very conservative” with Skenes’ workload this year and that he likely won’t pitch more than 20 innings for the rest of the season.
However, Tuesday’s start at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla., might just be the next rung in Skenes’ climb through the Minors this year; Cherington said it’s possible Skenes could play at levels above Single-A in 2023.