Pirates' Paul Skenes: Confirmed as Opening Day starter
Rotowire
Manager Derek Shelton informed Skenes on Saturday that he will start Opening Day against the Marlins.
After he turned in a 1.96 ERA and 0.95 WHIP over 23 starts last season en route to being named the NL Rookie of the Year, it hardly comes as a surprise that Skenes will take the hill for Pittsburgh's first regular-season game. The 22-year-old star hasn't quite matched those numbers this spring (3.60 ERA, 1.70 WHIP), though his 12 strikeouts in 10 innings suggests he's primed for another fantastic season. He'll have the advantage of pitching against a Marlins lineup that finished with the second-worst OPS in the NL last season (.678) and projects to remain weak in '25.
Pirates' Paul Skenes: Strikes out four in spring debut
Rotowire
Skenes allowed one earned run on four hits and one walk while striking out four across three innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game.
Skenes had a slow start to his first spring training outing, allowing three baserunners and his only earned run in the first inning. He was sharp thereafter and surprisingly threw 54 pitches, though the longer outing allowed him to work in his cutter and sinker -- offerings he developed over the offseason, per Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Pirates' Paul Skenes: Throws live BP after rainout
Rotowire
Skenes threw a 45-pitch live batting practice session Monday, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
Skenes had been slated for his Grapefruit League debut Monday against the Phillies, but the game was rained out. Rather than push their ace back a day, the Pirates elected to keep Skenes on schedule and get his work in with some live batting practice instead. Skenes will be among the first pitchers off the board in fantasy drafts this spring.
Skenes has worked on a cutter and sinker this offseason, Noah Hiles of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Skenes noted that his cutter is a variation of his slider, while his sinker is a completely new addition. He didn't commit to throwing the latter in game action, though it sounds as if the tweaks were an attempt to help Skenes pitch more efficiently and work deeper into games. Across his 23 big-league starts in 2024, Skenes completed seven innings only four times, and he was purposefully limited by the Pirates across the final month of the season. General manager Ben Cherington stated that he expects all limitations to be taken off his star pitcher this season, so Skenes' efficiency will ultimately determine his workload.
