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Minor League Baseball’s No. 3 Prospect Paul Skenes Selected by Pirates

Skenes averaged 14.8 strikeouts per 9.0 innings in seven starts with Indianapolis
By Anna Kayser
May 11, 2024

INDIANAPOLIS – The Pittsburgh Pirates today selected the contract of starting pitcher Paul Skenes, their No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft who is currently rated as the No. 3 prospect and top pitcher in Minor League Baseball by MLB Pipeline. He will become the second former

INDIANAPOLIS – The Pittsburgh Pirates today selected the contract of starting pitcher Paul Skenes, their No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft who is currently rated as the No. 3 prospect and top pitcher in Minor League Baseball by MLB Pipeline. He will become the second former Indianapolis Indians pitcher to make his big league debut this season, following right-handed starter Jared Jones.

Skenes, 21, began the season on Indianapolis’ Opening Day roster and logged an International League-leading 0.99 ERA (3er/27.1ip) and 0.91 WHIP while ranking third with a .175 batting average against in seven Triple-A starts. He recorded a career-high eight strikeouts in back-to-back starts on April 12 at Toledo and April 18 vs. St. Paul en route to striking out 45 batters with Indianapolis, third-most in the league. In his penultimate Triple-A appearance on April 30 vs. Buffalo, Skenes tossed his first professional quality start with 6.0 shutout innings and seven strikeouts. He also threw 98 pitches clocked at 100 mph or higher, most in professional baseball.

The right-hander was the fifth player and fourth pitcher selected No. 1 overall to play with the Indians in franchise history, following right-handers Tim Belcher (1983 No. 1 overall, pitched for Indy in 1995), Bryan Bullington (2002 No. 1 overall, pitched for Indy in 2005, 2007-08) and Gerrit Cole (2011 No. 1 overall, pitched for Indy in 2012-14, 2016).

Following two years at the United States Air Force Academy (Colo.), Skenes led Louisiana State (Baton Rouge) University to a College World Series championship in 2023 and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

Indianapolis’ first-time callups are presented by Franciscan Health