One year ago, Paul Skenes was fresh off winning a National Championship with Louisiana State University. He was weeks away from being drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates first overall in the 2023 draft.
Yesterday, Skenes graduated from prospect status after exceeding 50 innings pitched in the majors.
The quick rise to the majors is a big reason why Skenes was drafted first overall, and called a generational pitcher. The results in his first nine big league starts further paint that picture.
Skenes has a 2.06 ERA in 52.1 innings this year at the big league level, with 70 strikeouts and 10 walks. He’s hit a stride in the last four starts, going at least six innings each time out, and allowing no more than one run per start. Skenes has struck out 40 and walked five in 30.1 innings this month.
Since arriving in the majors on May 11th, Skenes has been one of the best pitchers in the game. The Pirates will no doubt monitor and limit his innings in the second half, but he’s shown in each of his first nine starts the mentality of a top of the rotation starter. This continued on Saturday, as he held the Atlanta Braves to one run in six innings, striking out nine.
The Pirates were tied 1-1 when Skenes left the game, but ended up losing 2-1 in the bottom of the 10th inning.
There’s almost a feeling of inevitability with Skenes. He didn’t even spend a year as a prospect, and is already looking like an above-average starter, at the least. By drafting him last year, the Pirates added six-plus years of a near-ready ace. The move has given the Pirates one of the best pitchers they’ve seen in decades, and has officially opened the window of contention in Pittsburgh.
Pirates Prospects Rankings Update
With Skenes no longer prospect eligible, Bubba Chandler becomes the top prospect in the Pirates’ system. I’ve been updating the site’s rankings, and will be releasing the Top 50 Tiered Rankings Version 3.0 on Monday afternoon.
Until then, you can still check out the 2.0 version, which featured Skenes and Jones at the top.
Injuries Piling Up in the Minors
The Pirates have seen a few trips to the injured list over the last few days. Braxton Ashcraft was placed on the 7-day disabled list on Friday, retroactive to his start on Thursday. No word yet on what led to the assignment for Ashcraft, or any of the other players below.
Down in Single-A Bradenton, the Pirates placed outfielder Esmerlyn Valdez and right-handed pitcher Antwone Kelly on the injured list. These two players have been standout performers at the level.
Valdez is in his age-20 season, batting .236/.355/.435 with nine homers in 259 plate appearances. Kelly is also in his age-20 season, putting up a 3.75 ERA in 60 innings, with a 59:25 K/BB. Kelly had a 1.96 ERA and a 25:6 K/BB in 23 innings in June.
Sean Sullivan also went on the disabled list in Altoona. The right-hander has a 3.84 ERA in 72.2 innings in his second season at the Double-A level. He allowed nine runs in 12 innings across his previous two starts.
Jake Lamb Returns
The Pirates signed Jake Lamb to a minor league deal, bringing back one of their best performers from Indianapolis this year. The 33-year-old Lamb hit .289/.380/.416 with four homers and 13 doubles, prior to requesting his release earlier this month. Lamb had an opt-out, and decided to test the free agent market as the Pirates stuck with Rowdy Tellez in the majors.
Lamb provides a depth option for the remainder of the year. Based on what we’ve seen so far, he would only be used if there’s an injury. Tellez has been hitting this month, so his job is safe for now.
Pirates Prospects Daily
Patrick Reilly allowed one run in six innings last night, as Greensboro won 14-1. Reilly finished a great month of June, showing better control. The Pirates had two grand slams in their system on Saturday night. Read about Reilly’s start and all of the other results in the latest Pirates Prospect Watch.
https://piratesprospects.com/2024/06/pirates-prospect-watch-patrick-reilly-completes-a-great-month-in-greensboro.html
In Saturday’s First Pitch, I broke down one pitcher and one hitter who could be promoted to a higher level in the second half. Reilly wasn’t on the list for Greensboro, but looks like a promotion candidate.
First Pitch: Which Pirates Prospects Should Be Promoted in the Second Half?
In the latest Saturday Sleepers article, I looked at when a sleeper “wakes up”. I used the 2024 seasons of Charles McAdoo, Luis Peralta, and a few hitters in rookie ball to get to an answer.
