"Jackson Merrill & Jackson Chourio tempting, but I'm taking Paul Skenes" - HOFer John Smoltz picks 'franchise player' among NL ROY contenders

On Saturday, Hall of Famer John Smoltz and MLB analyst Ben Verlander talked about young stars Paul Skenes, Jackson Merrill and Jackson Chourio.

The Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher, San Diego Padres center fielder and Milwaukee Brewers slugger are the three main candidates to take home the NL Rookie of the Year award.

In his time in the big leagues, Smoltz represented the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals. In a highly decorated career, he was an eight-time All-Star, won the NL Cy Young award and won the World Series in 1995.

He is in the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame, and his number 29 jersey was retired by the organization in 2012.

On Saturday's edition of Flippin' Bats with Ben Verlander, when asked who he would choose out of the three to build a franchise around, Smoltz went with the Pirates ace. (0:55)

"Well, the easy answer would be taking a position player because of the health and problems in pitching, but I would be hard pressed to not take Skenes. I think he's such a difference-maker." [0:55]

"The youth and the ability those young position players (Merrill and Chourio) have already contributed, would be very tempting, but I'm still going to take a guy like Skenes. We've seen examples of pitchers like him, but we just haven't seen the consistency of it." [1:12]

Paul Skenes records latest quality start but ends up on the losing side as Pirates draw blank in St. Louis

The Pittsburgh Pirates lost the opener of their four-game series 4-0 against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Tuesday. In a game that had all the makings of a great pitcher's duel, both starters recorded quality outings.

Paul Skenes in action - Source: Getty

Paul Skenes was typically dominant on the mound, striking out seven, giving up four hits and one earned run in six innings of work, registering his latest quality start. However, the Pirates' offense was held at arm's length by Andre Pallante and the Cardinals' defense, as the visitors recorded only four hits in total on the day.

For the 2024 season, Skenes has a 2.07 ERA with 158 strikeouts, and after Tuesday's loss, his win/loss record now stands at 10-3. Paul will be looking to add another win to that record when he next takes to the mound on Sunday, as the Pirates face the Cincinnati Reds at the Great American Ballpark.