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MLB Insider Drops 3-Word Reaction to Paul Skenes’ New Pitch

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jake Elman | Last updated Mar 4, 2025 10:10 AM ET

It’s a new year and a new Paul Skenes.

First, the Pittsburgh Pirates phenom showed up at camp with a beard. If that wasn’t enough to turn heads, Skenes recently unveiled his latest weapon—and, if executed properly, it could land him his first NL Cy Young.

Skenes allowed one run and struck out four across three innings against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday. The reigning NL Rookie of the Year’s fastball regularly hit 99 mph in his spring debut.

However, all that ESPN MLB insider Olney could focus on was Skenes’ new cutter.

“It was crazy!” Olney said.

“It was this obscured cut fastball that seemed to move about 18 inches in a span of about two feet,” Olney continued on the Baseball Tonight podcast. “It was crazy how much movement there was on this pitch.”

Skenes already owns the 99 mph fastball and 94 mph sinker. We feel for opposing hitters shuddering at Skenes adding a dangerous cutter.

Skenes went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts last year. He totaled 170 strikeouts in 133 innings and finished third in NL Cy Young voting.

We already wondered what Skenes had planned for an encore. Only five pitchers since 2003 have tallied over 300 strikeouts in a season, with Gerrit Cole (326 in 2019) the last to do so.

Is Skenes and his cutter destined to join the club? Maybe not this year, especially if the Pirates limit the 22-year-old’s workload.

However, we fully expect Skenes to eventually approach 300 strikeouts. If he does so this year, let the record show we called it first.

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

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