The best is yet to come Paul Skenes. On Saturday, he looked like a long-term ace.
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected the right-handed pitcher with the first overall pick last year, and he dominated the minors and was called up to the big leagues in May.
His dominance earned him an All-Star nod, and he was named the National League starting pitcher of the game.
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Paul Skenes and Livvy Dunne (Getty Images)
Saturday’s match against New York Yankees marked the final start of his historic season, and the Pirates had said they probably wouldn’t leave him out for too long. So he made the most of his time.
In the first inning, he struck out Juan Soto looking a 100 mph two-seamer and followed up by wiping out likely MVP Aaron Judge with a nasty breaking ball.
Skenes, an LSU alum, is dating LSU Tigers gymnast and social media sensation Livvy Dunne, who is a native of New Jersey. Not far from her hometown, Dunne took a trip to the Bronx to watch her boyfriend, and she was impressed.
He pitched just one more inning, but his final pitch of the season was another devastating two-seamer, this one to Jazz Chisholm Jr., which the Yankees third baseman looked to for strike three. Skenes went six up, six down in his last outing.
Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates throws a pitch during the second inning of a game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on September 28, 2024 in New York City. (Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
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Skenes finished his first MLB season with a 1.96 ERA, the lowest among pitchers with over 100 innings pitched. It is also the lowest ever by a rookie in the live-ball era (since 1920). He also struck out 11.5 batters per nine innings and had a 0.95 WHIP.
The 22-year-old is not eligible for the ERA title because pitchers must throw one inning per game (normally 162 innings) to do so, and he threw 133 this year.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes pitches against the New York Yankees during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. (Brad Penner-Imagn Images)
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That will likely keep him from winning the Cy Young Award, but he’s already an ace and will be in that conversation for a long time.
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