ARLINGTON, Texas — Thirteen months ago, Paul Skenes was still in college, winning a national championship with LSU. Exactly one year ago, he secured his spot as the No. 1 pick in the MLB draft and set out — and his prodigious talent — to make it to the big leagues as soon as the Pittsburgh Pirates would let him. They did that in May, and since then, all Skenes has done is pitch better than anyone in Major League Baseball.
At 22 years old and just 11 career appearances into his major league career, Skenes started the NL All-Star Game on Tuesday night, just the fifth rookie to do so. It has all happened so fast, and even though he has a triple-digit fastball and a rare off-speed pitch, what has really made Skenes so different, an instant star in a game that needed one, is that while the whirlwind might have made a lesser player look foolish, Skenes found calm and displayed poise amid the chaos.
On Tuesday night, he threw 16 pitches to a who’s who of American Leaguers: Steven Kwan (.352 batting average), Gunnar Henderson (the best young hitter in the game), Juan Soto (Picasso at the plate) and Aaron Judge (Aaron Judge). He induced a flyout, a bunt to him, a pair of swings-and-misses before a walk and a soft first-pitch groundout to third. Skenes left the game after one clean inning, but the results were almost secondary to everything around them. The hype never let up, and Skenes ran at it, eager to prove it was justified.
He emerged from the 94th All-Star Game (a 5-3 AL victory) feeling that neither his youth nor his inexperience would be an impediment to his continued excellence. Surrounded by teammates who have played in dozens of All-Star Games, Skenes wasn't regarded as someone who simply rode the wave to an undeserved nomination. Veterans of the game saw substance and humility and someone who can take the game to a better place.
“The best thing about it is that they welcomed me with open arms in the locker room and gave me great support, watching my start,” Skenes said. “It was really cool. I definitely feel like I'm one of them.”
From Chris Sale to Tyler Glasnow, Logan Webb to Hunter Greene, the National League’s top pitchers spent time with Skenes, answered questions and welcomed him into the fraternity of the game’s best. The All-Star Game is an exhibition, to be sure, but it’s even more a chance for the world’s best baseball players to showcase the game at its finest: one-on-one matchups between hitter and pitcher, each a master of his craft, eager to win.
In front of a national audience witnessing his excellence for the first time, Skenes held his own against some of the game's best. Even though he finished his one-inning outing without a strikeout (Skenes entered the game with 89 of them in 66.1 innings pitched), he left his teammates in awe.
“A year ago I was in college,” said Webb, a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award last season. “So it's pretty impressive to see him do his job day in and day out. I was playing with him today. I basically said, 'Hey, why don't you sit down for a couple seconds?' Because he was going everywhere. But he's an unbelievable, unbelievable guy. And you can obviously see his talent up there. It's pretty incredible.”
Skenes put nearly his entire arsenal on display, throwing primarily his four-seam fastball (99 to 100 mph) and his splinker (the splitter-sinker hybrid that’s already considered the best pitch in the game), but also including a slider and a curveball to keep Soto, the top pro in the batter’s box, honest. He said he felt like he was on the verge of fainting when he threw a fastball on the first pitch to Kwan, but he calmed down and looked like himself, taking advantage of his 6-foot-6, 235-pound frame to throw pitches of a quality rarely seen in the game.
He even earned praise from Soto, who rarely gives pitchers credit. On the first pitch of their matchup, Skenes unleashed a 94 mph splinker that Soto struck out with a swing of uncharacteristic weakness. After taking a couple of pitches out of the strike zone — and staring Skenes down with his patented Soto Shuffle — he got ready and hit another splinker to tie the count.
“It's a pretty good pitch,” Soto said. “I've used it twice, so I'm definitely trying to get used to it and put together a good at-bat.”
He did, drawing a walk and bringing Judge to the plate. Soto vowed before the game to get on base to make Skenes vs. Judge a reality. Baseball’s most talented pitcher against its best hitter was taking place at Globe Life Field, and while the stakes weren’t as high-stakes as the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and then-teammate Mike Trout, the buzz it generated throughout the ballpark illustrated a similar appeal.
Unlike the epic at-bat that ended with a full-count strikeout of Trout to secure the WBC title for Team Japan, Skenes-Judge began and concluded with a 100 mph fastball that rolled to third base for an easy out. All eyes were on two of the game’s leviathans, though, and it was the kind of thing that got even baseball’s most accomplished talents excited.
“It was a privileged perspective from the bullpen to where he was,” said Detroit left-hander Tarik Skubal, also one of the game's best pitchers, who was warming up before pitching the second inning. “His talent — I mean, it's an unbelievable talent. Nobody's going to question his talent and what he has, and he works really hard. I think it's great for baseball.”
Anyone who doubts that is wrong. For all of MLB’s troubles in producing true stars — those whose transcendence can help return baseball to the place of prominence it once held on the national sports scene — the league is experiencing something of a renaissance. Judge is a genuine guy, and pairing him with Soto with the New York Yankees has been a coup for baseball. From his raw material (unmatched, at least until the return of Jacob deGrom) to his incredible performance (a 1.90 ERA in those 11 starts) to his social profile (his girlfriend is LSU gymnast and social media sensation Livvy Dunne), Skenes fits the bill. And then there’s Ohtani, a global superstar — something Skenes didn’t take for granted, particularly after he hit a three-run homer in the All-Star Game.
“I tried to enjoy the three hours I got to spend teaming with him because that's probably only going to happen once a year,” said Skenes, who stayed at the ballpark to watch the rest of the game after his inning of work. “It was really cool to see him do that, really cool to see him do his thing and get to know him and all that. I don't know any hitter I've faced that's better than him in my career. So to be able to share the dugout with him was surreal.”
Beyond his right arm, Skenes' maturity and intelligence were on display all week. He didn't take the opportunity for granted. None of it seems to overwhelm him. He's living a dream life, no doubt, and there will be bumps along the way, but he fully understands his place in the game and his role in a sport he loves.
“It's great,” Skenes said, “to give the game some visibility.”
Everyone was on his case this week, and just as he has in just over two months in the big leagues, he accepted the stares and the gapes, took pictures and signed autographs, played the role the game demands of him. It's a lot for anyone. It's exponentially more for someone just starting his career. For 48 frantic hours and in one inning on the mound he owns, Paul Skenes proved something.
He is ready for it and belongs there.
