The Pirates are in no hurry to bring Paul Skeens to the big leagues, but the Pittsburgh prospect is making a case to get up there sooner rather than later.
On Thursday night, Skeens pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings on the road for Triple-A Indianapolis, reaching over 100 mph on 34 of his 43 four-seam fastballs and striking out eight batters. According to MLB.com.
Skeens, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 Draft and MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 overall prospect, averaged 160.5 mph with his fastball on Thursday.
He finished the day with 65 pitches, giving him 27 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings in Triple-A this season.
They haven’t conceded a single goal yet.
Still, Skeens, also known as the boyfriend of LSU gymnastics superstar Olivia Dunn, is in no hurry to grow up.
He has yet to pitch four innings as a starter this season, but the Pirates are strategically making progress over time.
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington recently said in an interview with 93.7 The Fan, “With Paul, we’re trying to figure out how to get his volume going into the season with the goal of really accomplishing two things. “We’ve been very intentional about what we’re building.” According to MLB.com. “One is to get him to the right total for next season in 2024, where he pitched a full college season and then a little bit in pro ball last year.
Olivia Dunn. Instagram
“We don’t want to go from zero to 100 right away. Paul is very important to us long-term, so we want to think seriously about that.”
The Pirates aren’t trying to push Skeens, but if he continues to play like he has, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see him make it to the majors soon.
