“We don’t want to go from zero to 100 right away” - Pirates GM Ben Cherington on Paul Skenes’ uncertain return

Pittsburgh Pirates 2023: No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes has been dominating in the minors as fans await his major league arrival. However, as per the latest update, the time may not come soon, as he still needs to do more work at the minor league mound before he gets the call to the majors.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington spoke about him on Sunday's 93.7 The Fan radio show. He believes they are treading carefully with his progress and don't want to rush anything.

“With Paul, we’ve been very intentional about how we’re building his volume coming into the season with a goal of really accomplishing two things,” said Cherington.

“One is to try to get him to an appropriate total volume for 2024 coming off last year, when he pitched a full college season and then just a little bit of pro ball," he added. "We don’t want to go from zero to 100 right away. Paul’s so important to us long term, so we want to be really thoughtful about that.”

According to Cherington, they want to build up Skenes to a level where he can adjust to a five-day game routine with consistent outings of 85–90 pitches.

Skenes threw 46, 44, and 55 pitches in his first three games with Indianapolis, indicating that he is still not quite there. However, he was stretched to the fourth inning in his latest start.

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Paul Skenes is firing 100 mphs in his latest minor league start

In his latest minor league start against St. Paul Saints at Victory Field on Thursday, Paul Skenes extended his scoreless inning streak. He worked 3.1 innings, where he matched his professional career high of eight strikeouts over one hit and two walks. Now his scoreless pitching streak extends to 12.2 innings.

“It’s gone well,” said Skenes on his campaign. “A little bit frustrating sometimes, but I mean, taking it slow is just how it goes. But it’s gone well.”

What's even more impressive is the fact that he threw 34 100+-mph pitches across 43 fastballs. As Paul Skenes said, going through the lineup twice gives him the option to get the hitters out differently.

For now, Skenes is focused on getting deep into the games and building up his volume before major league call comes.