"Important for him to feel the length of a major league season” – Pirates manager Derek Shelton says team has no plan to shut down Paul Skenes

Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Paul Skenes has had a meteoric rise to stardom in the 2024 season. The hard-throwing starter has more than delivered on the immense pressure placed upon him after being selected as the first-overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft.

Since making his debut back in May, Paul Skenes has taken the league by storm with his triple-digit velocity and arsenal of different pitches. Despite the tremendous year from the rookie, the Pittsburgh Pirates are still on the outside of the postseason.

"Derek Shelton: "We've been very mindful of (Paul Skenes) innings and we will be extremely mindful of that over the last six weeks of the season." - @MLBNetworkRadio

That being said, the team stated there are no plans to shut the rookie down, even with the playoffs likely out of sight. Pirates manager Derek Shelton appeared on MLB Network Radio, discussing the team's plans for Skenes.

"It's going to be important for him to feel the length of a major league season," Shelton said of the benefits of keeping Skenes pitching.

Shelton said that it is important for Skenes to get a sense of the workload that he will need to take on as his career develops, but he said the team will be cautious for the remainder of the year. His highest total for innings pitched in a season is 129.1, a number that he is quickly getting to close with his last start, bringing him to 125.1 thrown this year.

Given the number of serious elbow injuries that have been sustained by star pitchers alrwady this season, including Spencer Strider and Shane Bieber, it is a risky proposition to keep Skenes in the rotation. As of Tuesday, the Pirates sit 8 games outside of a National League Wild Card spot, so it would be understandable if Shelton decided to limit Skenes in one way or another.

Paul Skenes remains the frontrunner for NL Rookie of the Year

One of the potential benefits of keeping Paul Skenes in the rotation is the fact that he is the current favorite to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award. According to DraftKings, the Pittsburgh Pirates ace is the betting favorite to win the coveted award, sitting at -130 odds.

While Skenes has long been considered a lock for ROTY, San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill has been closing the gap in the award race. By keeping Skenes in the rotation it could potentially help secure the accolade, which would make him the first Pirates play to do so since Jason Bay in 2004.