Gerrit Cole was selected No. 1 overall in the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft after three seasons in college.
He was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates and made his debut at age 22, midway through his second full professional season.
Paul Skeens is on a similar path, but not the same.
The fiery 21-year-old made a name for himself with his fastball, which consistently exceeded 160 mph.
Like Cole, he is from Southern California and was selected No. 1 overall by the Pirates in last year’s draft after three years in college, and showed overwhelming success in his first professional season.
Skenes is expected to make his MLB debut soon, and Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton said this week that Skenes is expected to start again Saturday at Triple-A Indianapolis.
Whenever he goes to the majors, he’ll bring a lot of attention, including the fastest four-seam fastball of any starter, and Cole.
“I’ve been watching his highlights,” Cole said. “I empathize with his situation, but I wasn’t throwing that hard. His fastball seems like it’s meant to go 10 feet further, because he’s supposed to throw it from 70 feet. , get there much faster than others.”
It’s that unparalleled speed that has helped Skeens get attention, but also raised concerns that he could become another young pitcher who gets injured.
“I’m just rooting for him to be successful,” Cole said. “There are some guys who can pick up the ball and just throw it. It’s no exaggeration to say he has those kinds of weapons, and now he’s in an environment where he can get the most out of it faster.”
Cole remained surprisingly injury-free until this spring, when he was sidelined with elbow inflammation. He could avoid surgery and return by midseason.
And he threw a lot of pitches as a young pitcher in the minors, something Skeens wasn’t allowed to do with the Pirates.
Skeens has made seven starts at Triple-A this season, but has not thrown more than 75 pitches. Cole had thrown more than 100 pitches in Double-A by the second half of his first pro season, and he doesn’t like the change in development.
“We don’t know how good this guy is,” Cole said. “No one does that. He was able to break the mold. He could be the greatest of all time. Why hold him back? Let him pitch more, let him pitch 98 times. [mph] If you limit it to 60 instead of 102, [pitches]he’s going to go 103 [mph]. Let the horses run. Stretch him out. You now have a window to grow him. ”
The 6-foot-6, 235-pound Skeens starred at LSU after spending his first two collegiate seasons at the Air Force Academy.
He turns 22 at the end of this month and has only thrown 27 1/3 innings this season. Skeens has struck out 45 batters, walked just eight and has a 0.99 ERA.
“I know he blows everyone’s minds,” Cole said. “He looks like one of those generational type weapons. I can’t wait to see what he does. He has a lot of work ahead of him, but right away he has the tools. ”
