Pittsburgh Pirates pitching phenom Paul Skenes, who has astonished everyone in baseball with his performance since being promoted in May, will reach another milestone on Tuesday night when he starts in the National League All-Star Game.
Skenes, who has a 1.90 ERA in 11 starts this season, deserves to be in the starting lineup, and one batter who could face him at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, spoke highly of Skenes, who he believes won’t be a one-and-done in this type of game.
“I’ve had a chance to watch some of his games over the last few weeks since he’s been promoted and it’s been really special. It’s been awesome,” New York Yankees’ reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge said during All-Star media availability on Monday.
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Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (No. 30) pitches during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. (Benny Hsu – USA Today Sports)
All anyone can say about Skenes is his electric arm, which can send his fastball into triple digits on the radar gun, but having seen him on the mound, Judge feels his arm is more than just a power arm, and that’s why he’s had such early success.
“You can talk about his velocity and what he throws, but he’s a pitcher,” Judge explained. “He can throw three, four, five pitches. He can throw it anywhere in the zone in any count. He’s a complete pitcher.”
“It’s exciting. We’re all excited to see him on the mound, especially in his first All-Star game. It’s awesome to be named a starter. I’m really looking forward to going up against him.”
Judge will bat clean up in the American League All-Star game on Tuesday, but he likely won’t face Skenes. Pitchers don’t usually pitch more than one inning in the All-Star game, not just to conserve pitches for the second half of the regular season, but also to give all All-Stars a chance to pitch in the game.
If Skenes goes 1-2-3 in the first inning and then leaves the game, Judge will face a different pitcher in the bottom of the second.
However, Judge’s Yankees teammate Juan Soto will bat third in the American League order.
“I’ll try and play him against him,” Soto said on MLB Network’s broadcast with Judge ahead of Monday night’s MLB Home Run Derby.
Pirates rookie phenom Paul Skeens makes MLB history with another dominant performance
New York Yankees guard Aaron Judge, wearing No. 99, takes batting practice during the 2024 Gatorade All-Star Workout Day at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, Monday, July 15, 2024. (Mary DeCicco/MLB Photo via Getty Images)
Soto also praised Skenes.
“He’s fantastic. It’s incredible to see a player like him perform as well as he does. He’s young and he’s just going out there, developing and proving himself. He’s a pretty exciting player so it will be interesting to see what happens,” he said.
Judge was asked what he would be thinking at the plate if he were facing Skenes.
“The approach? Don’t blink,” he said with a laugh. “That ball is coming pretty fast.”
Skenes is just getting started in his career, but he’s already set team and league rookie records and proven that with the ball in his hands he is one of the best players in the game right now.
If healthy, Skenes should play in the MLB and make multiple All-Star appearances, which is what Judge hopes will happen.
New York Yankees No. 99 Aaron Judge speaks to the media during Gatorade All-Star Workout Day at Globe Life Field on July 15, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. (Jean Wang/Getty Images)
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“He’s going to be one of the top pitchers in the game for a long time, so it’s going to be exciting to get a chance to face him in this first game, and I know he’s going to be a multiple-time starter in the All-Star Game for years to come, which is pretty awesome,” he said.
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