Pirates tell top pitching prospect Paul Skenes he won't make the Opening Day roster

The Pittsburgh Pirates told right-hander Paul Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft and baseball’s top pitching prospect, that he won’t make the Opening Day roster.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington informed Skenes on Tuesday morning that he will start the season in the minor leagues but will continue participating in the major league camp during spring training.

“He has not had the benefit of the full minor-league season,” Cherington told reporters in Bradenton, Fla., per Alex Stumpf of MLB.com. “We’re also trying to put him in a position where he has the best chance possible to help us win games in Pittsburgh as soon as possible.”

After pitching 122 2/3 innings in leading LSU to the College World Series championship, the 6-foot-6, 250-pound Skenes signed with the Pirates for an MLB Draft-record $9.2 million bonus. He pitched 6 2/3 innings over five starts across three minor-league levels for the Pirates last summer, making one start at the Florida Complex League, two at Low-A Bradenton and two at Double-A Altoona.

Skenes has allowed one run on three hits, including a home run, while striking out three batters in three innings over two appearances in Grapefruit League play for the Pirates this spring. His fastball topped triple digits four times against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday.

“As we looked at the total work volume last year, the innings between LSU and pro ball, we look at what’s a reasonable projection for 2024 and try to manage that for a full season,” Cherington said. “We just feel like it’s more realistic and better for us to start that process in the minor leagues.”

The Pirates haven’t decided for which affiliate Skenes will start the season, but the likelihood is either at Altoona or Triple-A Indianapolis. The Pirates also reassigned three other top-10 pitching prospects — right-handers Bubba Chandler and Thomas Harrington and lefty Anthony Solometo — to their minor league camp Monday.

The news isn’t a surprise to Skenes, given his inexperience in professional baseball. After serving as LSU’s Friday night starter, it allows him to adjust to pitching once every five or six days and to use his full, five-pitch repertoire against minor-league hitters after relying almost exclusively on his four-seam fastball and slider in college.

Even so, Skenes approached spring training as if he had a chance to make the Pirates’ major-league starting rotation this spring.

“I think it would be pointless to be here and not want to make the team,” Skenes said, per MLB.com. “It would be like, ‘What are we here for?’ But, yeah, that’s the goal. The goal is to be a major leaguer and win a World Series, do all that. This is where it starts. I’ve spent a lot of time over the offseason thinking about it. Saw the data and that kind of thing on other guys who have come before. I knew the likelihood was pretty low.”