PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The largest contract to a drafted player ever, the Pirates signed first-round pick Paul Skenes Wednesday afternoon. The slot value is $9.721 million and several reports including from the Post-Gazette's Jason Mackey is that his deal will break the previous bonus record of nearly eight-and-a-half million that was set back in 2020.
Expectations are for Skenes to fast-track to the majors. The college numbers in arguably the strongest conference in college baseball, they tell a story of readiness. In 122.2 innings, an ERA of 1.69, WHIP of 0.75, striking out 209 and walking 20. Some of those previously mentioned experts were calling those numbers generational.
Pirates GM Ben Cherington was not ready to proclaim anything minutes after drafting the 6'6", 260 pounder. Cherington says they will come up with a schedule based on his readiness and physical health.
"Certainly anticipate and hope he'll be ramping back up in 2023 and be able to pitch in baseball games in 2023, but we haven' gotten far enough into that yet to be able to share any detail," Cherington said the night he drafted him.
That would be a big step to getting the big righty with the Pirates sooner rather than later. Cherington said when they drafted Henry Davis number one overall in 2021 they wanted to fast-track him to the majors. If not for the injuries, most notably playing through and also having injured list stints with a broken hand, Davis could have been in the majors his second season. If they are able to get Skenes starts in pro ball this year, they should get a feel for where he should start the 2024 season.
Even if that is in the minors, he could begin at a high level which would make for a quick transition to the majors.
It's more than just how professional hitters react to his pitches, Skenes said there are intangibles he will have to deal with. Most notably how well he is physically prepared to pitch 30 starts with five days rest compared to 19 starts in college with seven days rest.
"I know I've watched the game for so long and it always felt so distant just because I've been a fan sitting in the stands watching all of those guys compete," Skenes said. "Now, I don't know exactly what to expect because it's so close. To an extent it's my decision when I get to the big leagues based on how I do and how I work. It's also someone else's decision to pull me up."
"I think I'm close. I don't know exactly how close but I'm going to do everything in my power to get there as soon as possible."
