Andrew McCutchen compares Paul Skenes to two-time Cy Young pitcher: "He's a unicorn"

Paul Skenes received the ultimate comparison to two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom from his fellow franchise legend, Andrew McCutchen. After finishing his rookie season, going 11-3 with 1.96 ERA and 0.95 WHIP, the 2023 first overall pick won the NL Rookie of the Year on top of earning All-Star selection and Cy Young finalist.

As he gears up for his second season, expectations are already sky-high for the up-and-coming pitcher.

On Friday at LECOM Park, McCutchen raved praises for Paul Skenes, who will lead the Pirates rotation this season despite being just 23.

"And, you know, when it comes to Paul, I mean, he's a unicorn," McCutchen said. "He's a guy where you just don’t see the kind of stuff that he has."

He also compared Skenes with Texas Rangers star Jacob deGrom, who earned two back-to-back Cy Youngs early in his career.

"He reminds me of deGrom," McCutchen added. "He reminds me of a guy who has really good stuff and can locate it very well. And he doesn’t just focus solely on his velocity—he's trying to pitch. So it's great to see that in a guy who's only 23 years old. It's unbelievable. Sometimes you have to take a step back and be like, 'Man, he's only 23.'"

Paul Skenes adding two more weapons to his pitching arsenal

Normally for a guy who throws 100 mph+ heaters with ease, one would say a good breaking ball to pair alongside will make him someone to get a hit off. Skenes also has his version of a "splinker," which garnered immense attention during his rookie season.

Now he's adding two more types of pitches in his arsenal: Two-seam fastball and cutter. His arsenal already includes a four-seam fastball, "splinker" and slider which helped Skenes earn Rookie of the Year over San Diego Padres star Jackson Merrill.

When asked "why", the pitcher said (via MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf):

“Really, [I'm] just trying to create more swing decisions. That’s what it boils down to.”

That said, when and at what frequency these pitches will be offered to major league hitters is what Paul Skenes needs to decide with his pitching coach this spring training.