"Paul Skenes is a f***ing mad scientist experimenting on s**t" - Fans in disbelief over Pirates star's new cutter against Orioles

Fans reacted as star pitcher Paul Skenes appears to have added a cutter to his arsenal. On Saturday, Skenes showcased his new pitch during his Spring Training debut as he helped the Pittsburgh Pirates secure a 5-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium.

During the game, he worked on two new pitches, a cutter and a two-seam fastball. Skenes allowed four hits, one walk, and one run over three innings, throwing 54 pitches, 33 of which were strikes.

Fans were quick to react to his pitch mix, particularly the new cutter, which left Orioles hitters swinging and missing.

“Someone needs to stop this dude lmao. He's a f*cking mad scientist just experimenting on s*it,” a fan said.

“Good god. Like it wasn’t fair to face him already,” another fan said.

“This is going to be deadly to lefties all year long,” another wrote.

The reactions kept pouring in, with many fans expressing their excitement:

“Bros just gonna f**k around and casually win 10 cys and a couple of mvps on the way,” a comment reads.

“There’s not a single pitcher in the league I would take over Skenes right now. Not one,” another comment reads.

“This dude is gonna shatter records if he has a healthy career,” another comment reads.

Paul Skenes opens up about his new pitches in his spring training debut

Paul Skenes was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the first overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft and made his Major League debut last year and won NL Rookie of the Year.

After his first Spring Training game against the Orioles on Saturday, Skenes opened up about his new pitches, saying (via MLB):

“You’ve just got to mix it in. Learn some stuff about it. But it’s going to be good, I think,” Skenes said. “The lineup is kind of irrelevant a little bit when you’re working on new stuff, and when you’re working on trying to figure out how they affect each other. The biggest thing was just getting in the zone and seeing where we’re at.”

Last year, after a stellar 11-3 season, Paul Skenes won the NL Rookie of the Year Award and finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting. He became the first player to be named an All-Star in the season immediately following his draft.