At this point, it just feels like a matter of time for former No. 1 overall selection Paul Skenes. After slowly working his way up through the minors over the past year, anticipation has officially reached an all-time high for the talented former LSU baseball pitcher to finally reach the big leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Paul Skenes has been nearly impossible to stop in the minor leagues
There was never any doubt about what the Pittsburgh Pirates were going to get in former LSU baseball star right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes. After taking the 6-foot-6, 235-pounder with the No. 1 overall selection in 2023, it was always just a matter of how long they would keep him in the minor leagues.
During his time with the Tigers, Skenes was about as dominant as you could find at the college level. Having recorded an overall record of 13-2 with the purple and gold, he put together an impressive 1.69 ERA (Earned Run Average) in 122.2 innings played, to go along with his casual 209 strikeouts.
Relatively unsurprisingly, the 21-year old hasn’t lost any of that momentum and is currently dominating the Triple-A with the Indianapolis Indians.
So far this season, Skenes has made seven appearances for his team, and to say he’s been good would be a vast understatement. In said seven appearances, the future Pittsburgh Pirate has thrown 27.1 innings, allowing just 17 hits compared to 45 strikeouts, while posting a jaw-dropping 0.99 ERA.
In short, he might be playing even better this year than he was at the college level and his trip to the MLB might need to come sooner than many initially anticipated.
Future Pittsburgh Pirate teammate gives shoutout to the former LSU baseball star
While there’s little doubt that LSU baseball fans all around the country are excited to see what Paul Skenes can do at the next level, it’s becoming abundantly clear that they aren’t the only ones.
Yesterday evening, Monday, May 6, 2024, the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-1, earning their 17th victory of the season. While the win was certainly a good one, the highlight of the day might have come from the pitcher’s mound, as veteran right-handed pitcher Mitch Keller had himself a career night, throwing 109 pitches in 9.0 innings, while allowing just five hits on the day. This was his first 9.0 inning game since May of last season.
Interestingly enough, after taking some time to appreciate his own impressive performance, he also had some thoughts on what the future could look like. More specifically, he made sure to give a shoutout to what could be his second half in what would be an electric one-two punch at pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the not too distant future.
“I watch every one of his starts,” the 28-year old pitcher said about current Indianapolis Indians star Paul Skenes. “He’s just impressive. Impressive with what he can do, impressive arsenal – that guy’s a beast out there. So I can’t wait for him to get up here, I obviously don’t know when that’s gonna be – but hopefully it’s soon, and I’m excited for it.”
While there’s no set time for when Skenes will make his MLB debut, it feels like things are trending in a very positive direction for the former LSU baseball star. For now, all we can do is wait, but there’s little doubt that purple and gold fans all around the world will be tuning in once the day finally comes.
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