The Pittsburgh Pirates have been mediocre for a while.
Their last winning season came in 2018, and they are 17-21 as of Friday afternoon.
However, their time might be coming.
They are currently competitive, but still missing a few pieces.
One of those pieces is starter and former No. 1 draft pick Paul Skenes.
Skenes will be called up ahead of Saturday’s game against the Chicago Cubs, and the entire baseball universe will be watching with enthusiasm.
We might be in presence of a special pitcher, one that had a 0.99 ERA in 27.1 innings this year in Triple-A.
Oh, and he has an 8/45 BB/K ratio.
Podcast host Ben Verlander is projecting Skenes to join Jared Jones at the top of the Pirates rotation for years to come.
THE BUCCOS ARE UP NEXT @Pirates@Paul_Skenes x @jared_jones_17 pic.twitter.com/kCZEnbe9md
— Flippin’ Bats Podcast (@FlippinBatsPod) May 10, 2024
Verlander thinks there is a chance that Skenes-Jones is the “best 1-2 punch” in baseball at some point.
He might not be far from the truth, although these things are always hypothetical and premature.
First, we have to see how Skenes fares against MLB hitting.
We know, however, that Triple-A hitters don’t appear to be a threat for him.
He is armed with an elite fastball-slider combo: the former can easily exceed 100 mph, and the latter is a nasty bat-missing offering that will get him lots of strikeouts.
His control is also solid, and the Pirates think he is finally stretched out enough to pitch five or six frames every five days.
Jones, on the other hand, has impressed this year with a 2.63 ERA in 41 innings.
He has given away just five walks and has struck out 52 batters.
Jones is an early candidate for NL Rookie of the Year honors, and has done what Skenes hasn’t yet: dominate MLB pitching.
Starting on Saturday, we will finally watch these two in the same rotation.
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