Prepare. The Paul Skenes present is about to stage up in 2025.
Should you’re not already acquainted with the reigning Nationwide League Rookie of the Yr and Pittsburgh Pirates’ star pitcher, you may need to be paying consideration now.
That is as a result of Skenes is wanting so as to add a cutter and two-seam fastball to a nasty repertoire that already consists of his signature “splinker” (splitter-sinker hybrid) pitch and conventional four-seam fastball that tops out at over 100 mph.
The 22-year-old right-hander had a dominant rookie marketing campaign with the Pirates, cruising to a 1.96 ERA in 133 innings pitched (23 begins). He additionally averaged 11.5 strikeouts per 9 frames, all of which culminated in an All-Star look, a top-three Cy Younger Award end (behind the Philadelphia Phillies’ Zack Wheeler and the Atlanta Braves’ Chris Sale) and naturally, the aforementioned Rookie of the Yr honors.
It is all sufficient to make you surprise why Skenes would even want so as to add two extra pitches, particularly when those he is already working with are overpowering sufficient. However that is the kind of competitor he’s, along with his mentality of “making an attempt to create extra swing choices” for the opposing batter, as he advised reporters at spring coaching.
To get a way of what dealing with Skenes is like from a hitting perspective, here is what teammate and utility participant Adam Frazier needed to say after stay batting observe:
“Should you hit it [the splinker], you are hitting it straight within the floor,” Frazier mentioned. “So it is like, ‘All proper, strap it on and prepare.'”
After all, Skenes cannot carry the Pirates all by himself, as Pittsburgh had a modest offseason and appears positioned to be a middle-of-the-pack membership this season after profitable 76 video games in 2024. Though, any workload restrictions (very like the boundaries Pittsburgh positioned on its younger flamethrower final season) would definitely make contending much more tough in 2025.
For now, although, the Pirates seem keen to let Skenes experiment with an expanded pitch choice as spring coaching ramps up. And if he is capable of convey these choices with him into the common season? Be careful.
