Getty Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Paul Skenes burst onto the Major League Baseball scene May 11 when he made his debut against the Chicago Cubs. Six days later, facing the Cubs again, he threw six scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts.
Skenes has been appointment television ever since, and former Philadelphia Phillies All-Star Jimmy Rollins doesn’t want it to end any time soon.
Appearing on Bleacher Report’s “Walk-Off,” he weighed in on whether the Pirates should shut down the guy who started the 2024 All-Star Game for the National League.
“I understand the reasoning behind [shutting him down],” Rollins said. “He’s getting used to the workload. But I think the numbers, the velocity, the results, will be the deciding factors. If the kid can go out there and handle this workload, let him go out there and see what he can do.”
Skenes, 22, has thrown only 98 innings in the majors this year. Combined with his 27.1 innings in Triple-A, however, he has already surpassed the most innings he’s ever thrown in a season (122.2 for LSU in 2023).
Paul Skenes Might Be Slowing Down
It’s possible that Skenes is starting to feel that fatigue. In three August starts, he has a 4.15 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 17.1 innings. Those numbers are hardly alarming, but it’s also worth noting that his velocity has started to dip as well.
Skenes is averaging 98.8 mph on his fastball in 16 starts but hasn’t averaged that speed in an individual outing since July 5. His fastball has sat below 98 mph in each of his last two starts.
Skenes’ manager, Derek Shelton, urged fans not to panic about a couple sub-par performances. In his most recent start last Friday, August 16, Skenes gave up 2 runs in 6 innings but also walked a career-high four batters.
“He’s a major league pitcher that is dealing with things, and we saw a major league pitcher deal with something today and still give us a chance to win, which I give him credit for,” Shelton said after the game, per Jake Crouse of MLB.com.
Skenes also didn’t seem worried about his seeming lack of control.
“It wasn’t like I had no idea where it was going,” he explained. “I was just missing. I don’t know if it looks that way, but I knew I was close. Basically just had to keep throwing it to get it back.”
There’s Always an Injury Risk
Though Rollins said he still wanted to watch Skenes pitch, he acknowledged that it comes with a risk.
“You don’t want him to get hurt, and obviously the more innings you throw, the more stress you put on your arms, your back, your knees, the more likely he is to get hurt,” Rollins said.
But there’s an injury risk any time any pitcher takes the mound. That doesn’t apply only to rookies with a mounting innings count.
“It’ll take something very bad to happen, and we can’t control that,” Rollins said. “It could happen now; it could happen later. Whether he has one more start then you shut him down, it could happen in that start. Hopefully it doesn’t but I say let him keep going out there.”
There’s a financial element to this, which further complicates matters. As a competitor, Skenes no doubt wants to keep pitching. But is it in his best interest financially? He’s a rookie and still a couple years away from arbitration, but any setback could ultimately cost him millions.
“For you to try to control his legacy just because you have this innings limit on him, then you’re effecting that man’s future and ultimately he’s going to get paid regardless,” Rollins said. “[You] want to keep him healthy for that, but at the end of the day, it’s his career and his future, and you pray that he stays healthy because he’s gonna be a star in this game.”
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