Paul Skenes’ stellar journey from college baseball star to starting pitcher in the MLB All-Star Game highlights his extraordinary achievements and rapid ascent in professional baseball.
Bollywood Fever: Paul Skenes capped an extraordinary 53-week run on Tuesday night, starting the All-Star Game for the National League. This marks the latest achievement in a series of unprecedented firsts for the young pitcher.
Skenes, drafted first overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 9, 2023, made history as the only player to win a College World Series, be named Most Outstanding Player in the tournament, and go No. 1 in the MLB draft all in the same year. His professional career continued to shine brightly in his second year.
Just days after the one-year anniversary of his selection by the Pirates, Skenes became the first rookie pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Hideo Nomo in 1995. “Pretty dang cool,” said Skenes, who arrived at the ballpark with a superhero-like presence—dressed in an all-white suit, black necktie, aviator shades, and accompanied by his girlfriend, LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne.
In the Midsummer Classic’s first inning, Skenes efficiently retired Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan and Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson. After Juan Soto drew a walk, Skenes got Soto’s Yankees teammate Aaron Judge to ground into a forceout, completing a scoreless inning with 16 pitches, 11 of them strikes.
Atlanta Braves left-hander Max Fried took over for Skenes in the second inning.
Skenes has expressed ambitions of having a Shohei Ohtani-like role in the major leagues. He admired Ohtani’s debut as a pitcher in 2018, which he witnessed in Anaheim at 15 years old. Two years ago, Skenes achieved double-digit home runs and wins, earning the John Olerud Award as the nation’s top two-way player with a .367 batting average.
After transferring from Air Force to LSU, Skenes focused solely on pitching, leaving behind his batting ambitions. Despite his lobbying, LSU envisioned him as a premier right-handed pitcher, which Skenes embraced.
On draft day last year, Skenes set his sights on a swift and enduring MLB career. His performance since being called up by the Pirates on May 9 shows he’s on the fast track. Skenes struck out 89 batters and walked 13 over 66 1/3 innings this season. In his final pre-break start in Milwaukee, he maintained a no-hitter through seven innings, marking his second hitless outing in 11 starts.
Skenes hasn’t lost a professional game, with his last defeat dating back to Arkansas a year and a half ago. During his lone season at LSU, he recorded a 13-2 record with a 1.69 ERA and led Division I with 209 strikeouts in 122 2/3 innings.
“There’s not a lot of things you can do,” said Reds shortstop and fellow NL All-Star Elly De La Cruz. “You’ve just got to react. He’s nasty. He’s nasty.”
Scouts at Wrigley Field during Skenes’ dominant start in May clocked over 20% of his pitches at 100 mph or faster, with some pitches breaking more than a foot—a significant feat considering the plate’s width is 12 inches.
“That’s what attracted us to him, his ability with the pitch mix,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton noted in May. “You can look up and see 101 mph and get excited about it. The fact that he can spin the ball behind in the count, you don’t see guys come out of college a year ago that have the ability to do that.”
While starting the All-Star Game is a major milestone, Skenes remains focused on continuous improvement, a trait that impressed Pirates general manager Ben Cherington ahead of the 2023 draft.
“What you also learn about Paul as you get to know him is that he’s got this thirst for getting better,” Cherington said. “Not only willing, but wants to take on the challenge, whether that was going to Air Force Academy out of high school or transferring to the SEC for his draft year. Whatever’s next, he’s going to want it.”
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