The Pittsburgh Pirates made the perfect decision when they drafted pitcher Paul Skenes with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 Major League Baseball draft.
Skenes began the year in the minor leagues but was quickly called to the majors in May. The rookie phenom took the league by storm, going 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA over 23 starts and amassing 170 strikeouts over 133 innings pitched, setting a new Pirates rookie record. Skenes also became the first pitcher in almost thirty years to start the All-Star game.
Former MLB pitcher and MLB Network analyst Ron Darling touted Skenes as baseball’s next great pitcher following his fantastic rookie season.
“To come up with that much fanfare, it’s not easy,” Darling said. “You have to be the savior of an organization. Stephen Strasburg, it reminds me of that start he had against the Pittsburgh Pirates when he struck out 14 over seven innings, and he said to yourself, ‘This is the next great one.’ Well, (Paul Skenes) is the next great one…I’ve never seen a guy throw as hard consistently as I’ve watched Skenes throw.”
“(He) reminds me a little of Clemens early in his career. He just knows what it’s like to be on a big league mound. He wants to be the best pitcher in our sport and he’s got a great attitude. That attitude is going to take him a lot of places. “
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Comparing Skenes to these electric pitchers shows how good the young fireballer is. He made history by having an ERA below 2.20 and over 150 strikeouts in their first 21 games. Not only is he in the running for the National League Rookie of the Year, but also the NL Cy Young Award. Pittsburgh’s future is bright with Skenes.
More MLB: Paul Skenes Named Finalist For NL Cy Young, Rookie Of The Year
Featured image via Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images