Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes has high expectations for his major-league debut

Paul Skenes had been waiting patiently for the Pittsburgh Pirates to promote him to the major leagues, so the 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick was surprised to be sleeping when the call finally came.

After Skenes threw a bullpen session Wednesday morning before Triple-A Indianapolis’ game, he went home and took a nap — only to awake to find three missed calls from a phone number he didn’t recognize.

Turns out, it was Indianapolis manager Miguel Perez. When Skenes called back, Perez asked if he was coming to dinner. A stunned Skenes didn’t know what was going on or how to answer that question.

“He says, ‘Are you really gonna make me look for another pitcher on Saturday?’ ” Skenes said. “I’m like, ‘I don’t know. Am I?’ He says, ‘Yeah, you are. You’re going to the show.’ ”

Pirates RHP Paul Skenes on his whirlwind 24 hours after getting the call that he was going to The Show pic.twitter.com/X3EkM5HDcX

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) May 10, 2024

That two-minute call is how baseball’s best pitching prospect found out he would be making his major-league debut for the Pirates against the Chicago Cubs at 4:05 p.m. Saturday at PNC Park.

Given that Skenes throws a four-seam fastball that tops 100 mph regularly and has touched 102, it’s being billed as the most anticipated debut since Washington Nationals righty Stephen Strasburg recorded 14 strikeouts without a walk in a 5-2 win over the Pirates on June 8, 2010.

Safe to say, no one is sleeping on Skenes.

“A debut’s a huge day for anybody’s career. It’s special that it’s going to be a home game. It should be an awesome environment,” Pirates two-time All-Star closer David Bednar said. “More importantly, I’m most excited to watch him compete and just watch him work. The thing most impressive is how his mindset is. He goes about his business, and he’s a competitor. … He’s a freak in every sense. I know we’re all excited to watch him pitch. He’ll be a big addition for us going down the stretch.”

The promotion is a pinch-me moment for Skenes, whose completed a rapid rise from a military academy to the majors in two years.

Skenes was a pitcher-catcher at the U.S. Air Force Academy who won the John Olerud Award as the nation’s top two-way player as a sophomore in 2022 before transferring to LSU for his junior season. He led the Tigers to their seventh College World Series championship, going 13-2 with a 2.05 ERA and 0.75 WHIP and breaking the SEC record for strikeouts in a season with 209.

Related

• Mark Madden: All aboard the Paul Skenes hype train
• Even beyond Paul Skenes' debut, Pirates-Cubs series forecasts to be pitching paradise
• Before Paul Skenes, the Pirates had 5 No. 1 overall draft picks: A look at their MLB debuts

The 6-foot-6, 260-pound right-hander was selected first overall in the MLB Draft last July and signed for a record $9.2 million bonus. He made only 12 starts in the minors — five across three levels last year and seven at Indianapolis this spring — before his promotion.

“I try to look back and reflect as much as I can. It doesn’t feel like a blur,” Skenes said. “Two years ago feels really long ago and really short ago at the same time, if that makes sense. In some ways, it flew by. In some ways, it was really long.

“The biggest thing is (take it) a day at a time and just putting the work in, and stuff like this can happen. Not just for me, but anybody. A lot of blessings have come my way, not just over the past couple years, but throughout my entire career. I think this is a step, I think, in that.”

The Pirates now have two of the top rookie pitchers and can pair Skenes with Jared Jones, a 22-year-old right-hander who has had two 10-strikeout performances in his first seven starts in the majors. Just like Jones, who said he wanted to “shove” in his MLB debut, Skenes has set high expectations.

“Just want to put us in a position to win,” Skenes said. “I don’t know about specifics yet. Kind of just started looking into them. Yeah, just want to execute and put us in a position to win.”

The Pirates were methodical in building Skenes’ pitch and innings counts, bringing him along with baby steps by limiting him to one inning in each of his three spring training outings and increasing his pitch count from 44 to 75 and his innings from three to six at Indianapolis.

Where Skenes said he’s “felt ready” since the offseason, Pirates manager Derek Shelton called his buildup a continuing process and refused to reveal whether Skenes would be on a pitch or innings count Saturday.

“I wouldn’t say it is finished. There’s still a process to it,” Shelton said. “He’s come quickly. And we were very deliberate and very thoughtful with the process and, just like with Jared, we’re going to be very thoughtful about how that process continues to go. But it was time. He had checked all the boxes that we felt he needed to do in the minor leagues — and he checked them very quickly — but there’s still going to be a process as we move forward.”

Pirates RHP Paul Skenes on his plan for his major league debut Saturday, and what he hopes to accomplish against the Cubs. pic.twitter.com/GlYLkcIoPC

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) May 10, 2024

Cubs manager Craig Counsell, who was more worried about facing Jones first on Friday, called it “impressive” that both are capable of touching triple digits. Although Counsell believes it’s becoming the norm, facing a No. 1 overall pick who can top 100 in his debut is not.

“I think this is a situation where when you’re the first pick in the draft and you get to the big leagues quickly, there’s going to be excitement and there’s going to be hype, no question about it,” Counsell said. “When guys get in the box, there’s not much difference. It’s, ‘Give me something to hit and give me something over the middle of the plate.’ He’s going to have to keep it out of the middle of the plate. If he doesn’t, we’re going to hit it. If he makes good pitches, he’s probably going to have success.”

Pirates center fielder Michael A. Taylor has played with a handful of No. 1 overall picks, ranging from Strasburg and Bryce Harper with the Nationals to Carlos Correa with the Minnesota Twins to Henry Davis and now Skenes with the Pirates. Taylor didn’t sign until mid-March, so he’s excited to finally see Skenes pitch for the Pirates.

“Having that kind of pitcher on the mound definitely gives a team confidence when they take the ball every fifth day,” Taylor said. “Everybody’s different, but obviously we know what Carlos and Harper have done in the league. Having that guy who’s first overall has that promise of being a perennial superstar.”