Skenes owns 11 career starts but is becoming the best pitcher in all of baseball.
Welcome to Bechtold’s Core Four, where I preview four Pittsburgh Pirates topics, events, or storylines worth following this week, All-Star Game edition. In this weekly feature, we’ll discover what you would keep an eye on as the week progresses in the world of the Pirates and Major League Baseball. Let’s go.
Skenes Keepin’ It 100
Paul Skenes will become the first Pirate to start the All-Star Game for the National League since Jerry Reuss in 1975 and the fifth Pirate since 1960. He’s only started 11 games in the MLB. It’s one of the most impressive stories in baseball and all of sports. Skenes is becoming one of the biggest names and brands in the country. You can be sporting a mustache in Pittsburgh and someone will likely come up to you and ask if you’re replicating Paul Skenes. Hell, it happened to me more than a handful of times when I grew out my first-ever mustache.
Skenes will face Steven Kwan (Cleveland Guardians), Gunnar Henderson (Baltimore Orioles), and Juan Soto (New York Yankees) at the top of the AL batting order in Arlington, Texas. If someone reaches AL home run king Aaron Judge would be next.
I want to see Skenes vs. Judge. It’s dumb Bruce Bochy put Judge fourth instead of third in the order. I like Kwan and he’s hitting over .350, but does he need to hit leadoff? I understand the Kwan argument, than why not flip Soto and Judge? Skenes and Judge are the two best in the game at their respective realms of the game. Skenes the best NL pitcher. Judge the best AL hitter. It’s going to happen, one way or another.
Skenes and Livvy Dunne Love Pittsburgh
Paul Skenes and Livvy Dunne are falling in love with Pittsburgh. You love to see it. Talking to the Pirates broadcast crew on SportsNet Pittsburgh Sunday, Skenes expressed his love and appreciation for his new city.
“I love it. It’s a unique city; it’s cool. Being able to travel and see other cities and compare it is also cool. There’s really no place in the country that I’ve found that’s like Pittsburgh. The fans are great, the stadium’s great.”
Tuesday turned from good to great when LSU gymnast and social media sensation Livvy Dunne told Jason Mackey of the Post-Gazette:
“I’m just starting to love everything about it (Pittsburgh).” Is this Heaven? No, it’s Pittsburgh.
I feel like I’m in my own rendition of Field of Dreams. I was hesitant the Pirates should select Skenes over Dylan Crews until the final week of the draft. The more and more I watched him, the more I wanted the Pirates to draft him and believe in him, like how Ray Kinsella believed in his baseball field. If you build it, they will come. It’s all worked out. They love Pittsburgh, and we love them. I feel like we’re living out a movie scene in real time. This is our Travis Kelce-Taylor Swift, but way better.
Don’t Forget About Mereal-time
Oh, Bryan Reynolds is also on the NL All-Star team. Reynolds has seemingly been completely forgotten due to the buzz and hype around Skenes. It’s probably exactly how Reynolds likes it. Pirates trainer Tony Leo is also on the NL staff. Reynolds is third in the NL in hits (110) behind Luis Arraez and Shohei Ohtani, tied for 13th in batting average, tied for 9th in home runs, and tied for 8th in RBIs.
If not for Reynolds, the Pirates offense would be in a deep and dark depression reminiscent of the horrid Chicago White Sox the team just swept. Ok, maybe not that extreme, but you get the point. Reynolds continues to earn his $106 million deal and is one of the best hitters in baseball since June 1. A 25-game hitting streak did wonders. He’ll have a hit as a reserve in the All-Star Game.
MVP?
Derek Shelton emphatically told us on 93.7 The Fan Tuesday that Skenes will only pitch one inning. NL manager Torey Lovullo (Diamondbacks) made the right call starting Skenes. It was the only option he had, especially following injuries to Zach Wheeler and Tyler Glasnow, plus Chris Sale starting on Sunday.
Could one inning be enough to earn Skenes All-Star Game MVP? I can see it under two conditions: 1. Skenes strikes out the side OR allows one walk and strikes out Aaron Judge to complete his third strikeout 2. Skenes shoves with three punchouts, and the NL wins a 2-1 or 3-2 game with little offense and no deserving position player.
Paul Skenes is on pace to be the greatest rookie in Pirates history and, I’d argue, Pittsburgh sports history. If Skenes doesn’t win All-Star Game MVP tonight, he’ll certainly earn a few trophies before the end of the season. It’s incredible to watch and appreciate. Seriously people, appreciate it. We’re witnesses to Pittsburgh sports history.