Hall Of Fame Pitcher Shares Thoughts On Paul Skenes And His Future

Paul Skenes has had an incredible rookie season thus far, but some feel it’s too early to know how great the pitcher truly can be.

Skenes has done nothing but thrive on the mound in 2024. Through 15 starts, the right-handed hurler is 6-2 with a 2.25 ERA to go along with 115 strikeouts, 0.96 WHIP, and 11.3 K/9. Add in the MLB All-Star Game start and you appreciate what the former first overall pick has done in his first major league season. But there’s a lot more work to do moving forward.

In an interview with CBS Sports, baseball Hall of Famer Randy Johnson shared his thoughts on the Pittsburgh Pirates’ ace. Johnson recognizes that Skenes is a special pitcher, but wants the 22-year-old to take control moving forward if he wants to be even greater.

“He’s definitely special, but in today’s game, he’s going to be held back for the rest of this year and maybe next year,” Johnson said in the interview with CBS Sports’ Matt Snyder. “But if you want to be the pitcher that you’re capable of being, you need to step up and show people what you’re capable of doing and voice your opinion, because going five or six innings you’re not going to win very many ballgames in today’s game. You’re gonna have to go seven or eight innings and you’re not going to hurt yourself because the game has been around for 150 years and people went 7-8 innings all the time and they threw 115-135 pitches. You just have to mold your body and your body needs to become accustomed to that kind of workload. That’s all it is.”

Johnson accomplished everything in his 22-year career, so Skenes may want to consider his words as he moves forward in his career. For now, the Pirates and fans will be happy to see him do what he’s been doing every night he takes the mound. It’s only the beginning for Pittsburgh’s star pitcher after all.

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