BREDENTON, Fla. — A wave of humanity continued at every stage of his time as Paul Skens’ timber strides crossed from field 1 to field 2 at the Pittsburgh Pirates’ spring training complex.
Children wearing LSU hats and fake mustaches in honor of realistic National League Rookie of the Year run around the ropes with waves of humanity and hook signs I cried out his name in hopes of this. Following on to the light-skinned suits in Pittsburgh in winter, their parents decided to bathe in the brightest sunshine to touch the Pirates organization of the last decade.
At 6-7 pounds and 235 pounds, Suken tried out a baseball diamond and couldn’t hide. But on Saturday, when he first faced live batter this spring, he lighted up how much Skens has changed in his first full professional season and exceeded it. Ta.
Now it’s about growing the floor with refinement, efficiency and ceilings. This is the tough task that comes when you finish third in the Cy Young Award poll. But this is Skenes. He is extremely talented and focused on almost equally, quietly setting the much-anticipated second year stage.
“Obviously, it’s a privilege. It’s not something I’m trying to escape,” Skens, of his position, recounts his position as the most infamous pirate. “That’s not what I noticed ton. I noticed it today, and it was almost the first time.
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“Things change. People talk differently than you. But at the end of the day, do it.”
Skenes did in 2024: He hit 170 batters in 133 innings, throwing them to ERA 1.96, posting a 0.95 whip, and most importantly, the Pirates scored 15 out of 23 starts . The advantage surpassed the considerable hype that came with his No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 draft for LSU.
And considering that it’s easy to rocket out of his hand at an average of 98.8 mph, and that there’s a hopeless wave of balls on the ball as the opposing batter hits 33% of the time, it’s the beginning That’s how it felt.
To that end: Skenes started just 23 games last year, but that number starts from three this year, given their health. He has been messing around with two new pitches last year: a cutter and a running two-seam fastball to pair it with enough fastballs and a devastating “sprinker” to shut the lineup down.
“Whatever looks like a fastball and doesn’t make it a fastball. We all know how special his fastball is,” says pitching coach Oscar Marin. “It just opens up more zones.”
Most notably, Skenes wants to improve pitch efficiency. No, I’m hoping to pitch to get in touch and get rid of it, I want to increase my first strike percentage and clean up the batter faster. Even if he adapted to the big leagues, Suken completed six innings in 15 of his 23 starts, pitching seventh in five more.
And then there’s a piece of Paul Skens.
“Welcome to second grade”
Far from the big-eyed rookie from a year ago, Skens still had to wave a lot and listen to the veteran voices badly. He had arrived in the major leagues by May and never looked back, but formed a 1-2 duo and relatives with fellow Socal Rookie Jared Jones.
Jones, Skens and veteran Mitch Keller all want that first day assignment. However, the conversation and conservation of energy between the groups should benefit the pirates and change the dynamics of marquee charm.
“Last year I was meeting everyone,” Skenes said. “(This year) it’s definitely not that much, I’m a new kid at school. Moreso, ‘Welcome to second grade’ All my first grade friends are back in the long summer.
“I’m happy to meet you guys, and this year there’s a unique opportunity to create dynamics in the locker room.”
The Skenes offseason was a little different from his teammates. He and his girlfriend Livvy Dunne, the LSU gymnast and online force, are in demand from the red carpet to the Super Bowl to everything from the Baton Rouge.
The Skenes public persona is a man whose pulse is not slowly struck by it, from the situations of the paparazzi at the perimeter to the standard demands of elite athletes in towns like Pittsburgh.
“He managed it and did an incredible job going this offseason,” Pirates general manager Ben Charrington tells USA Today Sports. “It comes with the territory of who he is, but there is a lot of interest in him all over the world, and there is a lot of interest in his time.
“In a way, I’m joking that spring training is an opportunity to become a baseball player again. Come early with the guy, have breakfast, bullpen, breathe in. He’s going to do it If I could, I would be happy with him.”
Yes, there are a lot of expectations not only on Skenes Pitches Day, but also on the baseball side.
Raise the floor and raise the roof
Pirates have finished last or second in NL Central for the eighth consecutive year. And after three successful wildcard years of success over the past decade, they missed the playoffs in 29 of the past 32 seasons.
The club again brought back 2013 NL MVP Andrew McCutchen and reunited with infielder Adam Frazier, who was Bucco’s from 2016 to 2021 trade.
Frazier stepped into the box against Skenes in his live batting practice session, but Skenes called it “electricity” and saw many pitches that a capable batsman could do anything about.
He hopes the group will awaken the town from a hardball slumber.
“Pittsburgh cares about baseball,” Fraser says. “They are hungry for some victory. We want to give them that. It’s cool to be thanked for such a city.
“They support their peers. They care deeply and it’s cool that they have our backs.”
Manager Derek Shelton said: I think he will accept that, not just what he does on the field.
“When the baseball world hits a storm like last year, fans attach themselves. We’ve seen it not only in Pittsburgh, but throughout the league.”
Skenes’ Rookie of the Year Conquest means he already has a year of service time. The repetition of that season will inspire pirates’ interest in trying to close Suken after five years now under their control.
But that episode is probably a year away. For now, Skens hopes that a good vibe is being fooled by Jones and Keller, Bailey Falter and Johann Oviedo, or others who may crack the spin.
“If you raise the floors of the staff, raise the ceiling, that’s the goal, and it’s what it gets better as you go,” Skenes says. “That’s the opportunity. No matter who is a man.”
It’s not difficult to understand who a man is. Follow the stumbling public who has stoked this year’s rookie and declared.