The Pittsburgh Pirates have a lot of interesting young pitchers.
The biggest name of that group is, of course, Paul Skenes.
Skenes was last year’s No. 1 overall pick in the Draft, and even though he didn’t pitch much in the minors, everybody knows he is extremely polished.
The Pirates invited him to spring training this year, and he showed the world why he was taken before anyone else.
Flashing a 102 mph fastball and impressive breaking stuff, he turned heads in Pirates camp and even tossed three solid innings in the spring, conceding just a single run.
There was some chatter about him starting the season in the majors to help boost the Pirates’ chances.
However, Pittsburgh did the logical thing and sent him to Triple-A to open the year.
“Paul Skenes will start with Triple-A Indianapolis, Ben Cherington says,” Pirates insider Jason Mackey tweeted.
Paul Skenes will start with Triple-A Indianapolis, Ben Cherington says.
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) March 25, 2024
Skenes, who had a 13-2 record and a 1.69 ERA for the LSU Tigers in 2023, could probably be an above-average starter in MLB right now.
However, the Pirates want to make sure to gain an extra year of team control by keeping him down for a few weeks.
Once they are sure he won’t be a Super Two player, they will probably bring him up provided he is having success in Triple-A.
The Triple-A assignment is logical, in any case: he hasn’t pitched past Double-A and Pittsburgh wants to see him succeed in the high minors before bringing him to the majors.
He is MLB-ready or very close to it, according to most specialists, and once he is up, he has enormous potential to be an impact starter.
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