The Pittsburgh Pirates have top prospect Paul Skenes set to make his Major League debut Saturday against the Chicago Cubs.
Skenes was the first overall pick in last year's draft, and the Air Force transfer turned LSU alum was immediately labeled as a top five prospect in the game.
The tall right-hander lived up to that hype last year after debuting in minor league baseball, striking out 10 hitters in 6.2 innings pitched across three teams in his very limited showings.
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Set to Electrify Crowds
Skenes began this year at AAA Indianapolis, and his immediate success at such a high level forced Pittsburgh's hands in promoting him to the big leagues.
In seven starts with Indy, Skenes had a 0.99 ERA and struck out 45 hitters in 27.1 innings pitched. That rate of swing-and-miss stuff and run prevention proved he had little development left to do in the minors, so the Pirates eschewed any super two incentives to call him up.
Featuring a fiery four-seam fastball with incredible life and a plus breaking pitch, Skenes projects as a top-of-the-rotation arm, and joins fellow Pirates rookie Jared Jones in giving the Buccos a one-two punch of dynamic young hurlers.
The Pirates have been involved in a number of the most hyped up pitching debuts over the years.
In 2013, the Pirates had the most recent number one pick college pitcher to make an incredibly anticipated first start, when Gerrit Cole won his debut against the San Francisco Giants.
Just before that, Washington Nationals' starter Stephen Strasburg made his first career start against the Pirates in D.C, completely dominating the Buccos and setting the stage for what became a storied career.
In 2002, it was Mark Prior making his first career start for the Chicago Cubs against the Pirates.
Will Skenes' debut live up to those other big moments in pitching history? Tune in at 4:05 to find out.
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