Pirates Manager Addresses Paul Skenes Workload Concerns

The Pittsburgh Pirates aren’t expecting just one season of dominance out of Paul Skenes. They expect it to continue well into the future.

That begs the question of how should the Pirates handle Skenes with Pittsburgh out of the playoff picture — the Pirates entered Friday eight games behind the Atlanta Braves for the final National League wild-card spot.

Skenes has thrown 131 1/3 innings combined innings in the majors and minors this year, which is the most he’s thrown in any season, edging out the 129 1/3 frames he tossed last year between LSU and his foray into Pittsburgh’s farm system. With just over a month left in the season and the always-looming fear of injury, it wouldn’t be a shock if the Pirates decided it would be best to put their Lamborghini of a star pitcher in the garage until next season.

But that doesn’t look like the approach the Pirates will take.

“There is no immediate plan to shut him down,” Derek Shelton told reporters Thursday, per MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf. “There has never been any immediate plans to shut him down. How we monitor that, whether it’s an innings limit or a workload limit per game, we’ll be thoughtful about that.”

Skenes’ rookie season has been nothing short of extraordinary. He has posted an 8-2 record in 17 starts to go along with a 2.25 ERA, .0942 WHIP and 130 strikeouts in 104 innings. And Shelton wants him to keep on picking up experience before the regular season concludes on Sept. 29.

“You have to learn how to get through a major league season,” Shelton said. “It’s really important and most guys are able to do it. You look at a majority, if not 95% of major league players — not just major league pitchers who are doing it — they have at least one season in the minor leagues, if not two. What he’s doing is something that’s very different, it’s very special. It’s something we also have to be very mindful of. He’s learning how to pitch on Aug. 22. He’s gonna learn how to pitch in September, all those things.”

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