Pirates Place Top Prospect Paul Skenes on Development List, Will Not Pitch For Rest of 2023
Pittsburgh Pirates top prospect Paul Skenes will not pitch again for the rest of this season after being placed on the organization’s Development List, the club announced on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old was selected first overall by the Pirates in July’s draft in Seattle and is currently ranked baseball’s No. 3 top prospect, per MLB Pipeline. He sits behind only Milwaukee’s Jackson Chourio (No. 2) and Baltimore’s Jackson Holliday (No. 1).
Skenes dominated across 6.2 innings in five minor-league appearances after entering Pittsburgh’s system, allowing four runs on four hits and two walks while fanning 10 over three levels (complex league, single-A, double-A).
“We’re excited and encouraged by the positive things Paul has been able to accomplish in his short time in the Pirates organization,” Pirates GM Ben Cherington said in a statement. “He’s checked all of the boxes we aimed for him to check during the 2023 season.”
“The goal now is to focus on a complete offseason in preparation for his first full professional year in 2024.”
The 6-foot-6 righty broke out as a junior with the LSU Tigers before turning pro, posting a 1.69 ERA and 209 strikeouts over 122.2 innings in 19 starts, capping off his magical season with a College World Series title in June.
The hard-throwing hurler, regarded as the best college pitching prospect since Stephen Strasburg, led NCAA Division I in strikeouts and finished second in wins (12) along with ERA. As a result, he was named the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year.
Shortly after being taken by Pittsburgh, Skenes inked a $9.2 million signing bonus, setting a new draft record.
Skenes flourished in his first three starts – one at the complex league and the other two at double-A – with the Pirates organization, as only one of his 14 batters faced reached safely. He also flashed his high-90s fastball and knee-buckling slider to record five punchouts.
The Fullerton, California, native ran into a bit of trouble during his double-A debut last month, where he surrendered all four of his runs at that level on three hits and two free passes over just two-thirds of an inning.
But Skenes recovered quickly his next time out, holding his opponents to one hit over two scoreless innings while retiring three of his seven batters faced on strikes – a fitting ending to his spectacular 2023 season.
As the highly-touted prospect looks ahead to the off-season, he’ll likely receive a well-deserved breather after nearly eclipsing the 130-inning mark between his collegiate and professional workload. That’s an area the team will undoubtedly monitor closely throughout next season, as with any young arm.
Repeating double-A to begin the 2024 campaign makes the most sense for Skenes, considering he only made a pair of starts there before being shut down. But, given his immense talent level, his ascension to the majors should come quickly.
If his dominance continues, Skenes might not be far off from joining a Pirates rotation currently headlined by ace Mitch Keller and should eventually feature fellow top prospects Jared Jones and Quinn Priester.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Kgreenw7. This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Kgreenw7 at English Wikipedia. This applies worldwide.