"Most anticipated starting pitcher debut since Stephen Strasburg" - MLB analyst reflects on the hype for Paul Skenes' debut

On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced the promotion of Paul Skenes to the majors. All eyes are now on the most anticipated major league debut of Skenes, which will happen on Saturday against the Chicago Cubs.

While speaking on MLB Now, analyst Russell Dorsey weighed in on the Skenes hype train.

“I am very excited," Dorsey said. "I don't think it's hyperbolic to say it's the most anticipated starting pitcher debut since Stephen Strasburg. When he debuted on the network a long time ago.

“If you look at Paul Skenes, what he has been able to do since blowing smoke in LSU, College World Series. You are saying this is one of the best young pitchers in all of baseball and he is going to get in the big leagues. I am excited.”

Skenes' potential has drawn comparisons to Stephen Strasburg, whose major league debut with the Washington Nationals was one of the most hyped pitching prospects in recent memory. He had signed the deal with the Nationals for a staggering amount of $15.1 million at the age of 21.

His confident playing style and consistent pitching with speed in the 90s made him the most hyped rookie arrival at that time. He has been an All-Star three times, won the World Series, and was named the World Series MVP in 2019.

The same hype is surrounding Paul Skenes. He is even considered the most anticipated rookie by the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates drafted him in 2023 and later signed him for a $9.2 million signing bonus, the highest for a drafted player.

He broke the LSU record for the most strikeouts in college and won the College World Series Most Outstanding Player award.

Skenes began the 2024 season in the minors as a Triple-A player for Indianapolis. In just 27.1 innings, he has an ERA of 0.99 and has 45 strikeouts.

Paul Skenes’ new pitching style

The young prospect of the Pirates’, Paul Skenes, delivers burning fastballs, but his ultimate weapon is the new pitching style, Splinker. This hybrid pitch is a mix of a sinker and a splitter. It looks like a fastball but slows down by 5.0 mph.

In the triple-A games, almost 33% of the batters struggled to play the sprinklers and were eventually beaten up. He even has a four-seamer that can go up to a velocity of 102.0 mph. The hitters in the minor leagues failed to hit this ball 60% of the time.

With this kind of pitching, fans can hope that Skenes will turn up to be an elite player in the MLB.