ESPN: Paul Skenes’ MLB debut compares to LeBron James’ first NBA game

It looks like Paul Skenes already received LeBron James comparisons ahead of his MLB debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Since he can transcend sports, he’s already bound for the Hall of Fame. In all seriousness, there’s a lot of hype surrounding Skenes’ first start with the Pirates Saturday.

ESPN’s Buster Olney broke down just how special Skenes could be on the mound right away.

“First off, everybody’s excited,” Olney said on SportsCenter. “This is like a baseball version of LeBron James making his debut. I had his scouts say to me yesterday, he’s the best pitching prospect I’ve ever seen. And that’s a high bar because of course because you remember when Stephen Strasburg made his debut, striking out 14. Before that it was Mark Prior. 

“Right away Paul Skenes, when he takes the mound today, is going to be considered among the best pitchers in baseball even though he hasn’t pitched in the big leagues. Even though a year ago he was pitching for LSU because of that dominant stuff that he has. Everybody in the sport I think is excited, it’s like a national holiday in baseball.”

In seven minor league starts, Skenes put up a 0.99 ERA. Just absurd stuff from the former LSU Tiger.

“It’s the command,” Olney said. “Look in baseball, in 2024, you see a lot of guys who throw 100 miles per hour. Skenes throws 100, 101, 102 miles per hour, but it’s the command. his ability to control all the pitches. The fastball at the top of the zone, dotting it on the inside corner, the outside corner, plus he’s got the nasty breaking ball. Plus he’s got the changeup, he just seems to physically overwhelm hitters. 6-foot-6, just overpowering the guys at the plate.”

There is a whole lot of potential for the former LSU standout, who spent just one year with the Tigers after transferring in from Air Force. But what a year it was.

LSU captured a national championship with Skenes as the ace on the staff, and he was every bit the part of an arm that could carry you to a championship.

Skenes was named the 2023 Dick Howser Trophy winner, the National Player of the Year by D1 Baseball and Collegiate Baseball, a consensus first-team All-American and the College World Series Most Outstanding Player.

That came after he was a first-team All-American in both of his two years at Air Force.

In his college career, Paul Skenes went 24-6 as a starter and had a 2.18 ERA. He even saved 11 games, doing so as a freshman at Air Force. He struck out 335 batters in 235.0 innings pitched, while walking only 59.

Thomas Goldkamp contributed to this report