Paul Skenes. Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

Paul Skenes put on a show in his Triple-A debut

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 3/30/24

Paul Skenes put on an absolute show in his Triple-A debut on Saturday.

Skenes pitched for the Indianapolis Indians, which is the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate. The 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick pitched three perfect innings with five strikeouts.

Paul Skenes in his AAA debut:

3 perfect innings, 5 K’s. pic.twitter.com/vEhO42eLhF

— Young Bucs (@YoungBucsPIT) March 30, 2024

Twenty-nine of Skenes’ 46 pitches were strikes. Seventeen of his pitches were 99.5 mph or faster.

What a day from Paul Skenes: 3 IP, 5 K. Throws 46 pitches, 29 strikes. Seventeen went 99.5+ mph. Twelve whiffs.

Yeah, not bad.

— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) March 30, 2024

Skenes is 6-foot-6, 235 pounds and an absolute flamethrower. If he puts together another outing or two like that in the minors, it probably won’t (and shouldn’t) be too long before the Pirates promote him to MLB.

Why have him waste all those 100-mph bullets in the minors?

After dominating at Air Force to begin his college career, Skenes transferred to LSU for the 2023 season. He went 13-2 with a 1.69 ERA and 0.75 WHIP in his lone season with the Tigers. So far, he’s only pitched 9.2 innings in the minor leagues. But if he keeps making hitters look foolish in Triple-A, the Pirates may feel compelled to promote him.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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