Pirates’ Paul Skenes allows first home run as pro, but there’s a silver lining

Paul Skenes isn’t just the Pittsburgh Pirates’ top prospect, but he’s also the best prospect in all of baseball. But on Sunday, Skenes dealt with the first bit of adversity since becoming a professional. The right-hander surrendered the first home run of his minor league career, ending a streak of 33.2 innings without allowing a long ball.

That being said, Skenes only gave up two earned runs in the start, with his ERA still sitting at a mind-boggling 0.99, striking out 45 in 27.1 innings while walking a mere eight hitters.

The flamethrower is expected to be called up to the big leagues at some point in 2024 as he continues to carve up hitters in Triple-A.

When will Paul Skenes make MLB debut?

After a hectic 2023 college season where Skenes led LSU to a national title, the Pirates have been cautious with his workload this year. He’s on a 75-pitch limit each start, typically pitching on five days’ rest.

Pittsburgh GM Ben Cherington has been very impressed with how Skenes has looked every time he gets on the hill and expressed his excitement to see the righty pitch on four days’ rest for the first time on Sunday:

“We talk about boxes being checked, and today would be another one,” Cherington told 93.7 The Fan. “It’s the first time, as a professional … that he’ll be starting a game on four days’ rest. It may not seem like a big deal, but it is the first time it’ll happen, and it’s another box to check. He’s been checking just about every box since the season started and responding incredibly well.”

It’s an adjustment for Skenes pitching on four days’ rest rather than five, too:

“The biggest thing is just the learning experience of it all,” said Skenes regarding pitching on four days rest. “Doing the five day is a little bit different, so [I’m] just trying to figure out the routine of it and getting used to it.”

It’s becoming crystal clear that Skenes is ready to make an impact in the Majors. Sure, he hasn’t pitched a ton in the minors, but he has dominated at every level so far.

Paul Skenes wasn’t totally pleased with how he pitched on Sunday however, saying he struggled to find the strike zone early on which resulted in a couple of mistakes. Via MLB.com:

“It was a little bit inconsistent,” Skenes said about his execution in the zone. “Early in the game it was really good, late in the game I kind of started laboring a little bit. Maybe trying too hard on certain pitches, but I think it was good overall.”

A cool stat: Per Statcast, his fastball averaged 99.3 mph in the outing, one of his lowest marks of the season thus far. Still absolute gas, regardless. It should be only a matter of time until Skenes is in the show contributing for the Bucs, but Pittsburgh is evidently in no rush to promote the 21-year-old, who is going to be a franchise cornerstone for many years to come.