Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes is only getting better.
In a week, Paul Skenes will take the mound on Opening Day for the Pittsburgh Pirates, hoping to build off of an incredible 2024 campaign that saw him win NL Rookie of the Year honors.
On top of winning the award for the league’s best rookie, Skenes started in the All-Star Game for the National League, which is a massive honor for anyone, let alone a first-year player.
The best part about Skenes is that he has barely scratched the surface, and MLB.com reporter Alex Stumpf teases something new coming up his sleeves for the 2025 season.
This winter, Skenes’ tinkering yielded two new pitches: a cutter and a sinker. The cutter was born out of a desire to have a breaking ball in the 90 mph range, and he’s offered a peek at it in his first three Spring Training outings. The sinker, on the other hand, hadn’t been used much, until Monday in his penultimate spring start.
“I got a couple outs on it today, so that’s all [the feedback] I need,” Skenes said. “I haven’t thrown it a ton before today in Spring Training, but I’m happy with where it is.”
If Skenes can grow more comfortable with his sinker, it could lead to him working more innings for the Pirates, and that can only lead to good things as long as he continues to play like he did last year.
BD community, how do you feel about Skenes and his sinker? Chime off in the comments section below.