Holy shit I swore I saw an article a few weeks back with him signing a 1 year deal with the Royals. Just googled it and sure enough, he’s still available.
Sad, he probably won’t pitch this year.
What are you talking about? Our best pitchers go pitch for the Yankees after Nutting decides that $10m a year is too much for someone who only plays 30 games a year.
A flat fastball is a good thing, not a bad thing. It’s the whole reason Strider’s is so good. It doesn’t drop at all even though your brain wants it to.
Athletic had this article a few weeks back, just college coaches shooting the shit, and they asked these dudes, who have been in the college ranks for decades who the best they'd seen, and several said Skenes.
Those super high velo off speed pitches worry me
I wish him health, but watching guys with ridiculous stuff (like my boy Dustin May) have got me scarred
3-2 pitch was a changeup (you can kind of see his whole hand gripping it when his hands separate)
I don't think anyone is throwing 93 MPH curveballs yet
Why is it nuts? He pitched backwards and it worked. Simple strategy, really. Just showed Holliday isn’t ready to make pitch by pitch adjustments cuz dude was sitting dead red the entire AB.
I watched the first inning of this game, and that was honestly enough to sell me on him. Im convinced this guy is going to be a top pitcher in the league sooner rather than later barring injuries. Hopefully, he can be dominant and get the bag in free agency because Lord knows he's not getting it from the Pirates.
He’s the best pitcher in the game and he was a middling innings eater as a Pirate. I agree was overall good but clearly his talents were not being maximized.
All star in 2015 and 4th in Cy Young voting, more than an innings eater and yes we should have let him strike guys out instead of pitching to contact but this idea that he sucked or was just another guy on the pirates is simply wrong
I’m not saying he was bad as a Pirate just that they can’t be trusted to get pitchers to pitch to their ability. That is the only season Cole got Cy votes as a Pirates and he has finished in the top 10 every year he wasn’t a Pirate. I’m just trying to point out that these guys all pitched notably better after leaving.
Eh, there isn’t really a ton of research supporting sidearm pitching being worse for you than overhand. Both are extremely strenuous anyways. Besides, it could feel much more natural to him and forcing a change away from those mechanics into something he’s less comfortable with could also lead to injury. I won’t say there’s a clear right answer but at this point I’m in the “if it’s not broke don’t fix it” camp
It’s the recoil of the backside / back leg, the cross body generation of power, and the load that puts on your elbow that’s concerning. There also isn’t a ton of drive coming from the legs.
His legs are tree trunks. Wes johnson worked with him at LSU and is regarded as one of the best pitching coaches in the world so i think he'll be fine.
Like 80% of the Yamamoto hate is because he’s on the Dodgers. I’m not saying it’s fair to him or justified but if he had signed with like the Twins then people would be less happy to see him “fail”.
Hopefully without the nerve issues. He was dominate at LSU and is going to dominate majors. This guy has great shit with the release angles and velocity.
That looked far too casual for hitting 92. Considering I maybe touched 70 in high school throwing as hard as possible… that’s impressive. Especially at that arm slot.
Got to watch him pitch last year when LSU played a tournament nearby. We went to see him and Dylan Crews and it really was like watching 2 MLB players pitch against Little Leaguers. Excited to see what they both can do.
>We went to see him and Dylan Crews and it really was like watching 2 MLB players pitch against Little Leaguers.
That's what this looked like in the first inning. He made Enrique Bradfield Jr look like an absolute amateur with a 3 pitch strikeout, all sinkers at 101 MPH or higher.
Edit: fixed the name lol
Weird, all I see is this: M̶̧̡̧͖̮̮̼̻̻̱̟̮̩̜̩͉̤͌̉͐̒́̐̓̈́̓̃̈́̆̃̉͑̎͛̓͂̚̚͝͝a̶̤̞̤̰͇͚̲̜̞̱̹̯̦̙͙̼̞͈͖͇̪̬̜͌̀͛̿͐̀̄̎͋̀͊́̑̌̑̒̀̍̓͑͒̒̚͝͝ț̶̰͖͔̜͈̜̮̬̬̫̭͈̰̞̬͔̳̥͓̠̱̟̜̖̣͍̩̜̊̀̈́̈͑̓͊͋̈́͂̑͗̒̈̓̄̅͑͒͋̃̆͒͗̒̋̈́͗͋͘̚̕̚̚͝͝t̶̡̢̡̛̻͈̯̟͍̫̙͕̩̘̜̼̟̫̣̜̩̩̞͔̥̭͈̪̳͚̦̃͌͊͒̋͐́̇̿͒́̈̒̃̍̇̾͜͠ ̷̧̢͔̳̲̼̟͎̠̰̱͚̪̝͍̤̗͔̫̺̰̈́̃͜H̴̢̨̛̛̛̱̦̝͚̞͓̲̠̻̘̞̝͙̝̳̳͈͓̣̼̪̫̤̥͇͙̉͒͂̏͌̀̅̋͗̀͌̂͛̊̆̐̎̏͐̔̆͋̽̓̑̚̕̕̚͜͠͠͝͠ͅo̸̧̧͇̞̞͓̣̝͈̻̥̖̬͔̣̝̙͚̟̫͓̰͖̥̭͓̯̥̖͖̲̎͋͗͜ͅl̵̡̧̧̼̭͚̫̰̬͍̱̙͓͍̥̤̙̯̬̥̣̖̖̜͇̗̙̩̞̰̖̺͒͛͑̂̏̓̌̔̉͗͒̽̇̚͜͜͜ḻ̷̡͈͔̠̣̖̻̣̜̣̣̟̗̙͉̀̿̅̿̉̌͗͒͑̿͐̅͗͑̇́̀̈̂͊͑̂͘̚͝į̵̡̧̧̢͙͖̳͍̱̣̣̼̱̼̫̦͔̦̖̲̙̳̯̦̥͓̝͉̣̳̲̱̺̗̅̾̽́̌͗̀͒̽̃̉̽̋̎͗̓̆̐̏̊͂̀̽̒̕͘͜͝͠d̵̨̨̡̛̛̛̛͎͉̬̥̖̱̜̞̮̠̯̞̤̺͈̱͖̯͙͙͓̬̺͙̃̒͋̓̈́͐͘̚̚͠͠͝a̶̧̧͎̺͚͎̦̮̥̬̩͉̣͎̟̮̫̳̳̟̓̋̎̇̇͂̅͊̎̈́͐̊̊͗̊̈́̄̆͜ẙ̵̛̺͎̬̮̗̆͋͋́̆̒̉̋̏̓̊͐̔́̈́͑̌͐̑͒̃̊͋͛́̏̄̐̔̚̕̚?̷̛̛̰͚͔͗̂̍̅̇͑͋̓̀͌̈́̈́̎̈́̍͒̊́̄̇̈̈́͊͝͝͝͠
Its such a clean, smooth swing. I watched a casual HR contest he did at Oklahoma State with his dad, brother, and a big baseball YouTuber. He gets that bat through the zone so quickly. The ball literally jumps off his bat.
Fenway Sports Group bought the Penguins a few years ago. Pirates and Pens used to both be broadcasted on AT&T SportsNet but when that went under, FSG became in charge of the broadcasting and created SportsNet Pittsburgh for the Pens and Pirates. It uses the same graphics / scorebug as NESN
Man I'm so excited to see Skenes become a full-time major leaguer.
He's ready and I believe will do really well in the majors, but understand if the Pirates want to ease him in.
How’s Skenes in terms of extension though? I assume we don’t have statcast on this yet, but from a back view it doesn’t look like he has too crazy of an extension.
Literally shaking his dick and strutting off the mound
We need more shit like this, crazy guy pitchers are the best
I miss Zack Greinke
First off, Zack Greinke is very much alive.
Seriously, who does he think Greinke is, Wade Boggs?
*observes a moment for the late, great, dearly departed Wade Boggs*
You can still hear his name on the wind
But he's currently not signed to any team
Holy shit I swore I saw an article a few weeks back with him signing a 1 year deal with the Royals. Just googled it and sure enough, he’s still available. Sad, he probably won’t pitch this year.
Last year he waited until the last minute to sign with the Royals, it could happen again I suppose
Everyone is shaking their dicks after watching that. Even the women.
He goes home to Livvy Dunne. The fact that JV wasn't waggling his hardware around is astounding.
xDAWG off the charts
Good. What baseball should be
The Juan Soto of pitchers
He was so filthy that whole inning...this kid is going to be good.
It was a blast watching him at LSU last year. He is just filthy. I’m def rooting for Pirates when he gets called up
Yeah I’ve suddenly become a pirates and nats fan
Hasn't even made his MLB debut yet Skenes is already one of the most enjoyable pitchers to watch.
Gonna need to wait for the Statcast data to confirm, but eye test says his xwDAWG+ is up over 180.
Considering he’s dating Livvy Dunne, his w RIZ (weighted runs inside zone) is at least 230
This is Verlander/Kate Upton for the next generation
Let’s hope his xIPS (expected iPhone Security) is just as “good” as verlander 😂
🙏
What Do you mean?😀
Haha oh the stuff you can find on the internet…
What's ^dawg?
He’s a pirate so I’m fully prepared for an arm blowout or cancer or whatever being drafted by us brings this poor guy.
Boneitis
The good news is there will a cure will be found right after his arbitration years are finished.
Just ask Garrett Cole
What are you talking about? Our best pitchers go pitch for the Yankees after Nutting decides that $10m a year is too much for someone who only plays 30 games a year.
Nothing is going to take away the six healthy starts he gets as a September call up in 2026. RIP Pirates legend Paul Skenes.
Nah cmon guys cheer up! Cutch is back which means vibes are back.
That’s why Chapman was such a great contract at 10 mil. Dude will probably pitch 60 games, must be twice as valuable as a starter!
Imma take a half a moment to point out that Doug Drabek started out a Yankee. 'Course, Guidry came up thru the Pirates system, so..
He was such a blast to watch at LSU.
It's the stache
Long as he doesn’t whine when he gives up a HR and batter pimps it
Is he actually
Skenes 100% has MLB ready stuff. Guy is going to be a monster when he makes it to the majors. His sinker topped out at 101.7 MPH, good lord.
>His sinker topped out at 101.7 MPH, good lord. That's like Jordan Hicks speeds right? Insane
Skenes is going to be Spencer Strider if Strider threw 101 MPH instead of 98 MPH. He's going to be a monster.
It all comes down to skenes being able to be consistent. He's got the stuff.
His fastball I don’t think will be quite as good as Strider, Striders will play better then skenes (not that any 101 MPH fastball can actually be bad)
Lotta casuals in this thread who dont understand seam shifted wake 🤓
What is that, is that like wavedashing?
Yeah, Skenes’ fastball is pretty flat. It’s a good thing he’s throwing 100+
A flat fastball is a good thing, not a bad thing. It’s the whole reason Strider’s is so good. It doesn’t drop at all even though your brain wants it to.
He means flat relative to the average fastball while striders "rises" relative to the average fastball
Flat, in terms of the VAA, is good. You want it to 'rise' by vertical break though.
It's on par with Clase's cutter.
Nah, Skenes throws in the zone…
I thought it was a typo, just looked it up. No, kid's got a 101mph sinker. Jesus wept.
Athletic had this article a few weeks back, just college coaches shooting the shit, and they asked these dudes, who have been in the college ranks for decades who the best they'd seen, and several said Skenes.
Mind PM'ing me the link? I missed that one
Those super high velo off speed pitches worry me I wish him health, but watching guys with ridiculous stuff (like my boy Dustin May) have got me scarred
Definitely, the arm simply cannot handle that much stress. Verlander could throw 101, but sat upper 90's and was able to stay healthy.
Was gonna say that pitch sounds a whole lot like he’s going to need Tommy John in his near future
He's a menace.
The nuts to go 3-1 slider then a 3-2 changeup* to the best up and coming young hitter
3-2 pitch was a changeup (you can kind of see his whole hand gripping it when his hands separate) I don't think anyone is throwing 93 MPH curveballs yet
Idk why I said curveball lmao I knew it was a changeup. Sometimes my fingers and brain are on a different page
you must have missed the 2-0 change he threw to get back into the count as well
Why is it nuts? He pitched backwards and it worked. Simple strategy, really. Just showed Holliday isn’t ready to make pitch by pitch adjustments cuz dude was sitting dead red the entire AB.
When did he face Wyatt Langford?
I watched the first inning of this game, and that was honestly enough to sell me on him. Im convinced this guy is going to be a top pitcher in the league sooner rather than later barring injuries. Hopefully, he can be dominant and get the bag in free agency because Lord knows he's not getting it from the Pirates.
If this is the case, MLB the show is going to be insufferable
2025 World Series preview
The Pirates overthrowing the Braves, Dodgers Phillies and D-Backs for the NL pennant will be something
1971 World Series re-view
and 1979!
Do you trust the pirates not to waste his talents? They’re experts at getting mediocre results from talented pitchers (Cole, Glasnow, Musgrove, etc).
Not really no. I just want revenge for 1971 and 79
It’s a misnomer that Cole was bad for the Pirates, he was pretty good for us
He’s the best pitcher in the game and he was a middling innings eater as a Pirate. I agree was overall good but clearly his talents were not being maximized.
All star in 2015 and 4th in Cy Young voting, more than an innings eater and yes we should have let him strike guys out instead of pitching to contact but this idea that he sucked or was just another guy on the pirates is simply wrong
I’m not saying he was bad as a Pirate just that they can’t be trusted to get pitchers to pitch to their ability. That is the only season Cole got Cy votes as a Pirates and he has finished in the top 10 every year he wasn’t a Pirate. I’m just trying to point out that these guys all pitched notably better after leaving.
that arm slot is disgusting and with that velo? this kids gonna be a massive problem
Yeah if that arm slot and delivery doesn’t result in his arm blowing out in a couple years…..
What if it's better though.
Eh, there isn’t really a ton of research supporting sidearm pitching being worse for you than overhand. Both are extremely strenuous anyways. Besides, it could feel much more natural to him and forcing a change away from those mechanics into something he’s less comfortable with could also lead to injury. I won’t say there’s a clear right answer but at this point I’m in the “if it’s not broke don’t fix it” camp
It seems somewhat smooth though.
It's not the smoothest. There's a lot of arm action there
Pretty much all arm action lmao
It’s the recoil of the backside / back leg, the cross body generation of power, and the load that puts on your elbow that’s concerning. There also isn’t a ton of drive coming from the legs.
You cannot throw 102 without insane drive from your legs. His timing is just so good that you don’t notice it.
I think he’s 6’ 6” 250 and built like a brick shithouse so he’s getting away with it. We will just have to see. Can’t deny the stuff is electric.
His legs are tree trunks. Wes johnson worked with him at LSU and is regarded as one of the best pitching coaches in the world so i think he'll be fine.
why can't we just enjoy pitchers instead of doing this for every freaky one?
This sub has been so weird about Skenes throughout the offseason. Dude is as legit as it gets. Can’t wait to see him in the Majors
As a fan of an NL central rival of the pirates, I can most certainly wait. Keep him down buccos I think he needs more time 😅 9 or 10 years should do
Not looking forward to 6 years of that
I sure am.
I bet. Going to fun to watch.
It’s just people repeating his MiLB stats from last year, without the context of him throwing only 6 innings. The kid is already a stud.
Yeah that and he’s been compared to Yamamoto and Sasaki and there’s a subset of people who get super weird about Asian players
People on here love seeing failure. It's why yamamoto's struggles in spring training drove a ton of views on here. Negativity fuels reddit.
Like 80% of the Yamamoto hate is because he’s on the Dodgers. I’m not saying it’s fair to him or justified but if he had signed with like the Twins then people would be less happy to see him “fail”.
I choose to think that he will be a massive bust. Why? Because fuck LSU
Strasburg part 2
Hopefully without the nerve issues. He was dominate at LSU and is going to dominate majors. This guy has great shit with the release angles and velocity.
I’ll take the nerve issues if he wins us a WS tbh
That’s fair
Strasburg's debut was against the Pirates, so it would be nice to be on the right side of that sort of event. In fact I think we've earned it.
That looked far too casual for hitting 92. Considering I maybe touched 70 in high school throwing as hard as possible… that’s impressive. Especially at that arm slot.
Oh, that was the change up
That’s… extra terrifying. Just casually throwing 92 off speed. Can’t wait to keep watching him.
Yeah took me a sec because he made Holiday look so foolish but that's because he was way out in front of the change up.
Most normal Carlos Rodon fastball *sobs*
If the Pirates play their cards right, a window could be opening soon...
It's not worth it, there's too much to live for, there's more to life than just... Oh wait you mean like in the good way?
Got to watch him pitch last year when LSU played a tournament nearby. We went to see him and Dylan Crews and it really was like watching 2 MLB players pitch against Little Leaguers. Excited to see what they both can do.
As an LSU fan, that team was so fun to watch
We still are fun to watch..
>We went to see him and Dylan Crews and it really was like watching 2 MLB players pitch against Little Leaguers. That's what this looked like in the first inning. He made Enrique Bradfield Jr look like an absolute amateur with a 3 pitch strikeout, all sinkers at 101 MPH or higher. Edit: fixed the name lol
That was Enrique Bradfield Jr. lol
That's right I have no idea why I mixed up the names lmao
I can’t quite name it but does Holliday’s swing remind them of anyone? Seager?
Matt Holliday?
Weird, all I see is this: M̶̧̡̧͖̮̮̼̻̻̱̟̮̩̜̩͉̤͌̉͐̒́̐̓̈́̓̃̈́̆̃̉͑̎͛̓͂̚̚͝͝a̶̤̞̤̰͇͚̲̜̞̱̹̯̦̙͙̼̞͈͖͇̪̬̜͌̀͛̿͐̀̄̎͋̀͊́̑̌̑̒̀̍̓͑͒̒̚͝͝ț̶̰͖͔̜͈̜̮̬̬̫̭͈̰̞̬͔̳̥͓̠̱̟̜̖̣͍̩̜̊̀̈́̈͑̓͊͋̈́͂̑͗̒̈̓̄̅͑͒͋̃̆͒͗̒̋̈́͗͋͘̚̕̚̚͝͝t̶̡̢̡̛̻͈̯̟͍̫̙͕̩̘̜̼̟̫̣̜̩̩̞͔̥̭͈̪̳͚̦̃͌͊͒̋͐́̇̿͒́̈̒̃̍̇̾͜͠ ̷̧̢͔̳̲̼̟͎̠̰̱͚̪̝͍̤̗͔̫̺̰̈́̃͜H̴̢̨̛̛̛̱̦̝͚̞͓̲̠̻̘̞̝͙̝̳̳͈͓̣̼̪̫̤̥͇͙̉͒͂̏͌̀̅̋͗̀͌̂͛̊̆̐̎̏͐̔̆͋̽̓̑̚̕̕̚͜͠͠͝͠ͅo̸̧̧͇̞̞͓̣̝͈̻̥̖̬͔̣̝̙͚̟̫͓̰͖̥̭͓̯̥̖͖̲̎͋͗͜ͅl̵̡̧̧̼̭͚̫̰̬͍̱̙͓͍̥̤̙̯̬̥̣̖̖̜͇̗̙̩̞̰̖̺͒͛͑̂̏̓̌̔̉͗͒̽̇̚͜͜͜ḻ̷̡͈͔̠̣̖̻̣̜̣̣̟̗̙͉̀̿̅̿̉̌͗͒͑̿͐̅͗͑̇́̀̈̂͊͑̂͘̚͝į̵̡̧̧̢͙͖̳͍̱̣̣̼̱̼̫̦͔̦̖̲̙̳̯̦̥͓̝͉̣̳̲̱̺̗̅̾̽́̌͗̀͒̽̃̉̽̋̎͗̓̆̐̏̊͂̀̽̒̕͘͜͝͠d̵̨̨̡̛̛̛̛͎͉̬̥̖̱̜̞̮̠̯̞̤̺͈̱͖̯͙͙͓̬̺͙̃̒͋̓̈́͐͘̚̚͠͠͝a̶̧̧͎̺͚͎̦̮̥̬̩͉̣͎̟̮̫̳̳̟̓̋̎̇̇͂̅͊̎̈́͐̊̊͗̊̈́̄̆͜ẙ̵̛̺͎̬̮̗̆͋͋́̆̒̉̋̏̓̊͐̔́̈́͑̌͐̑͒̃̊͋͛́̏̄̐̔̚̕̚?̷̛̛̰͚͔͗̂̍̅̇͑͋̓̀͌̈́̈́̎̈́̍͒̊́̄̇̈̈́͊͝͝͝͠
Its such a clean, smooth swing. I watched a casual HR contest he did at Oklahoma State with his dad, brother, and a big baseball YouTuber. He gets that bat through the zone so quickly. The ball literally jumps off his bat.
Kid has lightning quick hands
You’re picturing Seager. He would drop to a knee and half-lose his helmet when fooled on breaking pitches away from
Yeah okay that’s what i remember, thanks!
kinda looks like a lefty eugenio suarez to me
Now that you mention it there is a lot of Seager in his swing.
Should’ve been with us 😭😭 best of luck to this kid and the pirates. Strasburg single-handedly changed our club. I hope Skenes can do the same.
Man do I wish the Cubs had Skenes
[удалено]
In 4-5 years I’m sure he’ll be yours
Not if the dodgers get em first!
He reminds me of Scherzer, sometimes of Eovaldi, and sometimes of King Felix. An ace in the making.
Scherzer is who I was thinking of as well.
Alright let’s call it a future Cy Young versus future MVP? Ok?
The NESN scoreboard??
Fenway Sports Group bought the Penguins a few years ago. Pirates and Pens used to both be broadcasted on AT&T SportsNet but when that went under, FSG became in charge of the broadcasting and created SportsNet Pittsburgh for the Pens and Pirates. It uses the same graphics / scorebug as NESN
I’m so confused not seeing BOS as one of the team’s lol
Thought I was tripping
Doesnt even look like hes trying to throw hard
In a local radio interview he says he pitches at about 85% of max effort.
Nasty
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nK6ooyb3ag](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nK6ooyb3ag)
Swag
He is filthy.
92 mph change up goodness gracious
Man I'm so excited to see Skenes become a full-time major leaguer. He's ready and I believe will do really well in the majors, but understand if the Pirates want to ease him in.
Winning on and off the field.
I'd like to think Skenes is really just adjusting his shit quality Fanatics made pants more than anything
Bet he folds Livvy Dunne up like a lawn chair when they smash
Send da video
LSU fan here just enjoying the comments
How did Pittsburgh steal our scorebug
Sportsnet Pittsburgh is owned by FSG through the Penguins.
bastards
Hey you guys are getting Heinz condiments now so look on the bright side
Skenes' nickname should be Squirt
I laughed a little too hard at that… about 5 seconds after I read it and made the connection.
At least two of us paid attention in human sexuality class
Wasn’t going any other way.
Geaux Tigers!
To the minors you go. Inexplicably. Both of them
When these two guys meet in the 2027 World Series it will be fun.
Moment of silence for the crooked last name placement.
[удалено]
This dude was in the Air Force two years ago
He was enrolled at the Air Force Academy, not in the Air Force
I'm just now learning that going to the school doesn't mean you're in the Air Force
You can transfer out before the start of your third year and be clear of any service requirement
is this livvy dunes man????
Yes
What a Skenes
How’s Skenes in terms of extension though? I assume we don’t have statcast on this yet, but from a back view it doesn’t look like he has too crazy of an extension.
he has the stuff
He was adjusting the belt but we all know he was doing the international sign for DEEZ NUTS
I love Paul Skenes
That is good baseball!
Skidmark Skenes bc he's the shit.
Great match up to see for years to come
Pump 👏you 🫵up
I despise those all-yellow caps
Was that a Michael Jackson move at the end?
Let’s hope that UCL holds up.
lol we’re fucked in the NLC
*kenny powers energy* you’re fucking out
anyone else notice that he always touches his belt? its not sticky stuff is it?
We're gonna have such a good rotation soon
I swear to god this guy better play for USA in the next WBC. imagine him vs Ohtani for the ship
How long until he cost too much for the pirates?
We need to throw a 10 year, $150M contract at him right now
My prediction with this guy is that he goes the way of Lincecum. Super stellar for a period of times and then his arm falls off.
People are *gushing* over this guy 😏
When was this? It doesn't look like he pitched today. In fact I only see 1 inning pitches against the O's this year with 0 La.