Paul Skenes receives Opening Day challenge from Pirates top prospect

Pittsburgh Pirates phenom Paul Skenes will head into the 2025 campaign as one of the best pitchers in the game following his outstanding rookie season last year. However, the Pirates ace has received a friendly challenge from their pitching prospect Bubba Chandler to keep his spot at the top of the starting rotation next year.

Bubba Chandler is the top prospect of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise and the No. 15 prospect overall. Chandler was drafted by the Pirates as a shortstop before he was converted into a pitcher the following season and had an excellent campaign in the minor leagues last year. The 22-year-old should make his big league debut this season and might have a breakthrough season like Paul Skenes did in 2024.

Last week Bubba Chandler had a dominant outing for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Spring Breakout game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Paul Skenes revealed that he had received a text message from the Pirates prospect after he was announced as the starting pitcher for the Pirates on Opening Day.

"He sent me a text when the video came out, and he said, "It's going to be tough next year when you're starting day two,"" Skenes told SportsNet Pittsburgh.

The Pirates ace produced a dominant campaign since making his MLB debut in May and went on to be named the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year.

He deserves it: Pirates manager on Paul Skenes being named the Opening Day starter

Paul Skenes was the first rookie to start an All-Star Game in nearly 30 years (Image Source: IMAGN)

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Saturday through team manager Derek Shelton that Paul Skenes would be the starting pitcher on Opening Day, taking over the honor from fellow right-hander Mitch Keller. They will be on the road against the Miami Marlins for the first series of the season on Mar. 27.

"I think he deserves it. Just from what he did last year, the way he’s performed," Shelton told reporters on Saturday. "I think we have a really good rotation with some other guys who can do it. Mitch has done it in the past and has done a really good job. Just felt like Paul was the best choice."

Skenes became only the fifth rookie pitcher to start an All-Star Game and made 22 appearances for the Pirates last year, ending the season on an 11-3 record with 5.9 bWAR. He posted 133.0 innings with a 1.96 ERA, 0.947 WHIP and 170 strikeouts to take third place in the NL Cy Young race.