Paul Skenes to make 1st Grapefruit League start for Pirates at Orioles on Thursday
BRADENTON, Fla. — Paul Skenes knew he was making his Grapefruit League debut Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles but, beyond that, the right-hander wasn’t aware that he was facing 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes and the top prospect in baseball in shortstop Jackson Holliday.
After throwing two bullpen sessions, the 6-foot-6, 250-pound right-hander who led LSU to the College World Series championship and was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft is simply focused on making his first start of spring training in a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform one to remember.
Paul Skenes learning some new information before his first Grapefruit League start Thursday at the Orioles. pic.twitter.com/hm1NtUZFt3
— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) February 28, 2024
“Yeah, I mean, it’s a game,” said Skenes, who is ranked the top pitching prospect in baseball by both MLB Pipeline, which ranks him third overall, and Baseball America (No. 9). “Ready to go compete, there are gonna be a lot of them. First one of the spring, so just ready to compete.”
After tossing 122 2⁄3 innings over 19 starts at LSU, Skenes signed for a draft-record bonus of $9.2 million last summer and pitched one inning in the Florida Complex League, three innings in two starts at Low-A Bradenton and 2 2⁄3 innings over two starts at Double-A Altoona. Skenes posted a 5.40 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 10 strikeouts and two walks in 6 2⁄3 innings across the three levels of the minor leagues last season.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton on what he’s looking forward to seeing from top prospect Paul Skenes in his Grapefruit League debut Thursday at Baltimore. pic.twitter.com/BVXirAZBL2
— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) February 28, 2024
“I’m excited to see Skenes pitch. With all of our young guys, the more reps and eyes we get on ’em, it’s gonna be really important for our entire group,” Shelton said. “I would imagine in Sarasota, he’s gonna see a pretty legit lineup. We’re talking about the team that won the AL East last year and won (101) games or whatever they won. I’m pretty sure he’s going to see some pretty good major-league hitters. That’ll be a good test for him.”
Even so, Shelton said facing the Orioles wasn’t by design but rather how his pitching schedule lined up.
“It’s spring training,” Shelton said. “There’s no more pressure than pitching in the College World Series like he did last year.”
Skenes said going against Burnes, a three-time All-Star right-hander acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers earlier this month in a trade, and facing Holliday, the 2022 No. 1 overall pick, won’t change his plan of attack.
“Going to go pitch well,” Skenes said. “I have more specific stuff, but I’ll probably share that after. Just going to go compete and pitch well and want my body to feel good and everything to go well.”
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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