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Only a year after getting drafted into the MLB, Paul Skenes has already started in the All-Star Game for the National League. He's been phenomenal in all aspects of the game, as he remains unbeaten so far in his MLB career. It's been an impressive rise, part of which has to do with an MLB analyst.
Skenes spoke with Pitching Ninja (Rob Friedman) about pitch tunneling. This is a phenomenon that modern pitchers study as an effective way of taking down hitters. It involves placing pitches so that they are in the same tunnel before they move out. It affects how the batter can see the ball and often leads to swings and misses.
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He said in a conversation with Friedman:
"At this point, the way I started thinking about it during the offseason and some of the stuff I started realizing. Part of that is because of you, too. I remember the Freeman at-bat in the World Series, I forget who was pitching. The heater up and the curveball dropped, and people are like, 'Why's he taking that?' And it's because of the two pitches, he just had to give up on. It's just using our misses."
When used effectively, pitch tunneling can confuse even the best hitters. If a fastball starts off the plate and follows up with a backdoor slider in the same tunnel, the hitter may well be frozen, and that's what Skenes has mastered.
Paul Skenes opens up on ASG start
Paul Skenes, a rookie who just has 11 starts under his belt, started the All-Star Game. That is almost unprecedented, but it speaks volumes about Skenes' talent level. The Pittsburgh Pirates star is already widely considered as one of the best in the game today.
He said via ESPN:
"The coolest part about it is they're so accepting and welcomed me with open arms into the clubhouse, and they're super supportive, watching my start. It was just really cool. Definitely feel like I'm one of them."
Despite some potential hostility over the fact that a rookie took the place of numerous NL veterans, everyone provided support for Skenes throughout the process.
