Ben Cherington, Derek Shelton aim to keep pressure off Paul Skenes for MLB debut

As the Pittsburgh Pirates’ top prospect — one of the most dynamic across MLB in recent memory — prepared to make his big-league debut, general manager Ben Cherington and skipper Derek Shelton did their best to make Saturday afternoon at PNC Park feel as normal as possible for pitcher Paul Skenes.

Despite their best efforts, it’s probably fair to say that objective was doomed from the start, as the hype and excitement around Skenes reached sky-high levels, in Pittsburgh as well as the broader world of baseball.

Nothing about Skenes, from his 6-foot-6, 260-pound frame to his electric repertoire of pitches, appears to be normal.

Nor was his meteoric rise through the minor leagues, culminating with a 0.99 ERA over seven starts at Triple-A Indianapolis this year, which led to his call-up Wednesday.

Pirates GM Ben Cherington on the decision to promote Paul Skenes to the major leagues. pic.twitter.com/4uAC6Z9Buc

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) May 11, 2024

That said, the Pirates did their best to treat Saturday’s game vs. the Chicago Cubs like any other.

“It’s a major-league debut and we’re excited to have him here, we’re excited to watch him pitch but also it’s a major-league debut,” Shelton said before the game. “Let’s just let the kid go out and be him and not put anything else on him except for just going out and being a major-league pitcher.”

Skenes’ work ethic and mentality were part of the scouting report Cherington came to consider at last year’s MLB Draft, when the Pirates took pick Skenes at No. 1 overall.

Keeping a close tab on Skenes as he’s navigated the club’s farm system in addition to observing how he’s acted post-call-up gives Cherington confidence Skenes is ready to rise to the occasion.

“I’ve thought about other really good players I’ve been around at the same age, including some who have gone on to have really, really good careers. I can’t remember any that have been surrounded by this much interest,” Cherington said.

“It’s been really impressive to watch him handle that and walk every day through it, handle it with poise and respect and go out there and do what he’s doing on the field.”

That said, any jitters that Skenes may feel upon taking the mound won’t be frowned upon.

In fact, for Shelton, a healthy dosage of nervousness simply comes with the territory, whether it be a prospect of Skenes’ pedigree or anyone else making their debut.

“I hope he is (nervous). I mean he should be — it’s the big leagues,” Shelton said. “It’s his debut. I would be surprised if you asked every player when they take the mound or field at some point that there’s not a little bit of butterflies at some point with them. I mean, it’s the big leagues. That’s the way it should be. I would expect that’s going to happen, and that’s 100% normal.”

As far as his own expectations, on Friday Skenes echoed the confidently succinct answer fellow pitcher and rookie Jared Jones gave earlier this year when asked what he wanted to accomplish in his MLB debut: “Shove.”

What “shove” entails for Skenes in terms of innings pitched or strikeouts, he left unsaid.

Suffice to say, doing everything he can to help the Pirates beat the Cubs will be atop his agenda from first pitch onward.

“Just want to put us in a position to win,” Skenes said. “… Just want to execute and put us in a position to win.”

The duration of Skenes’ highly-anticipated first MLB start is a question mark.

While his performance ultimately will play a significant role in determining that, Cherington, without offering specifics, did allude to pitch/inning restrictions being a factor Saturday.

This year at Triple-A, the most pitches Skenes threw in a start was was 75 April 30 in six innings of work, his longest outing with the Indians.

Dating back to March 30, when he made his debut with Indianapolis, Skenes threw 46, 44, 55, 65, 71, 75 and 66 pitches over his seven starts.

“We’re not going to announce that, obviously,” Cherington said. “(Shelton) will make that decision. The goal is to put (Skenes) in a position to help our team win and also in a position to remain active as a pitcher, our hope is, for the rest of the season.

“… The truth is, big picture, we’re tracking work volume for every pitcher on the team, no matter who they are. The number of pitches a pitcher throws is a thing, no matter who they are, in terms of effectiveness, recovery, what a particular pitcher is able to do today, tomorrow, etc. That’s not specific to Paul Skenes or any particular pitcher.”

For the moment, Skenes’ promotion to the big leagues won’t knock any of the Pirates’ other five starters out of the club’s rotation.

Cherington revealed Saturday that for the next week, with a seven-game road swing looming, the Pirates will likely utilize a six-man rotation featuring Mitch Keller, Jones, Martin Perez, Bailey Falter, Quinn Priester plus Skenes.

“In the very short term, we expect we’ll hold on to six,” Cherington said. “We’re just gonna see how that goes. I think we’ll get into a part of the schedule later this month where off-days will start creeping in and we may need to reassess that. We’ll see. In the short term, through the road trip, we’ll stay with six.”