Pirates' No. 1 pick Paul Skenes strikes out pair in scoreless 1st inning in Single-A debut
When Paul Skenes made his professional debut, it was as easy as 1-2-3.
His Single-A debut ended with a 2-5-1-6.
The 2023 MLB Draft No. 1 overall pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates, the 6-foot-6, 260-pound right-hander gave up a single and recorded a pair of strikeouts in a first inning that ended in a rundown.
Skenes threw 10 of his 16 pitches for strikes and touched triple digits once in one inning against the Lakeland Flying Tigers in his first start for the Low-A Bradenton Marauders on Tuesday night at LECOM Park.
Paul Skenes' two strikeouts in the first:
100 mph sinker
84.6 mph sliderWatch FREE: https://t.co/9tRsDJP2bs pic.twitter.com/cyNXn0k2m2
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 15, 2023
In his pro debut for the Florida Complex League Pirates on Thursday, Skenes retired Minnesota’s side in order and struck out No. 5 overall pick Walker Jenkins.
Against Lakeland, Skenes’ first pitch to leadoff batter Seth Stephenson was a 97.8-mph sinker for a ball low and outside. Stephenson, a 2022 seventh-round pick from Tennessee, lined the second pitch to center field for a single. Stephenson stole second base and advanced to third on catcher Geovanny Planchart’s throwing error.
Skenes threw a 99-mph sinker to Cristian Santana, ranked the Tigers’ No. 17 prospect by MLB Pipeline, for a called strike on his first pitch. Santana fouled off the next two pitches, then went down looking at a 100-mph sinker for a called third strike.
Skenes showed his three-pitch arsenal against Jim Jarvis, a 2023 11th-round pick from Alabama. Skenes threw three sinkers, a cutter and a pair of sliders, the last to get Jarvis swinging for another strikeout.
Skenes had a 3-1 count against Max Anderson, a 2023 second-round pick from Nebraska who is ranked the Tigers’ No. 14 prospect, when Stephenson was caught leading too far off third base. Planchart threw to third baseman Jesus Castillo, who fired it to Skenes at home plate. Skenes chased Stephenson back to third, tossing it to shortstop Yordany De Los Santos for the tag to end the top of the first.
Hung-Leng Chang replaced Skenes for the second inning.
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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