Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates are currently in Spring Training as they gear up for the start of the 2025 regular season. Skenes is the reigning National League Rookie of the Year after a dominant season on the mound.
The Pirates have not been a playoff team in recent seasons, but the franchise is hoping that having Skenes on their roster can turn things around. In a moment that was shared by the Pirates on social media, Paul Skenes was recently informed that he would be starting on Opening Day in an unexpected manner.
"The moment Paul Skenes found out he was starting on Opening Day," @Pirates captioned the post.
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Derek Shelton is the manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and he called Skenes into a meeting in the early morning on March 15. After having a brief discussion about how Skenes is feeling, Shelton gives his star pitcher the news.
"Alright, well you get your first Opening Day start," Shelton told Skenes.
From his reaction in the video, it seems as if this news came as a complete shock to Skenes. The young phenom was extremely appreciative of the opportunity given to him by Shelton, and he also made a bold prediction on how his start will go.
"Let's start off 1-0," Skenes said.
Paul Skenes draws praise from teammate Andrew McCutchen
Paul Skenes made an immediate impact with the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 2024 season, even impressing some of his veteran teammates. Andrew McCutchen is a legend in Pittsburgh, and he was able to watch the dominance of Skenes firsthand a season ago.
Speaking on the "Baseball is Dead" podcast, McCutchen had nothing but great things to say about Paul Skenes and the potential for even more moving forward.
"I love that a guy that's 23 years old understands that he has plus, plus stuff. He knows that majority of his stuff is not very hittable and he's still trying to get better. And I don't think it's necessarily for whoever he's facing, he's doing it for himself. I think he's trying to push that, of being the best pitcher that he can be for himself." (from 9:25)
"Obviously, people know he's good but he's like what can I do for myself to be better. Seeing that he has that at that age is unbelieveable because he's already developing that ... It's impressive, and when you're in there facing him, it's like, lights out man, I'm out."
The Pittsburgh Pirates are counting on Skenes to deliver in 2025, and he will get a chance in the very first game of the season.
