It won’t be long before pitcher Paul Skenes takes the mound for the Pittsburgh Pirates, especially if he continues to dominate the way he has to start the season.
On Friday night, Skenes logged another gem for Triple-A Indianapolis, striking out eight batters over 3.1 innings. 15 of his 55 pitches clocked in at 100+ mph, including nine of the 16 pitches he threw in the first inning.
Skenes, the No. 3 overall prospect in baseball, also mixed his pitches better than he had over his first two starts. Three of his punchouts came on sliders and two more on changeups.
His signature four-seam fastball was still the death knell for the Mud Hens, however. He threw it 24 times with an average velocity of 100.3 mph and it accounted for three additional strikeouts.
Despite being removed due to his pitch count, Skenes left the game without giving up a run.
Given the Pirates’ hot start (10-4), they may be inclined to bring Skenes up sooner rather than later. But before that happens, he’ll need to ramp up his pitch counts so that he can be relied upon to toss more than three innings.
Skenes’ next scheduled start is against the St. Paul Saints on Tuesday in Indianapolis.
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