Wednesday, October 23

Skenes struggles in Double-A debut in entrance of document crowd


Paul Skenes makes Double-A debut with Altoona attendance document

n”,”providerName”:”Twitter”,”providerUrl”:”https://twitter.com”,”type”:”oembed”,”width”:550,”contentType”:”rich”},”__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”“I didn’t know that. That’s cool,” mentioned Skenes, the Pirates’ No. 1 prospect and the No. 3 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline. “Obviously, that’s not why I play the game. It’s not why any of us play the game; we play to win and compete. It is cool to have an audience, wherever it is. Playing at LSU and playing in the College World Series, you’re going to have that no matter what. That’s humbling for sure, and I’m glad we could give them a good game at the end of it.”nnSkenes couldn’t give the packed house the show they had hoped for, nor the start he wanted.nnThe plan was for Skenes to pitch two innings, but the right-hander recorded just two outs (both strikeouts), allowing four earned runs on three hits and two walks on 33 pitches before being pulled. Skenes, though, maintained perspective.nn“A bad outing is just a bad outing,” Skenes said. “It’s just baseball. Obviously, I want to go out there and win and pitch as best as I can every outing, and I’m going to do everything to prepare to do that for every outing. But, it is baseball. The beautiful thing is it’s never as bad as it seems, and it’s never as good as it seems.”nn• No. 1 Draft choose already dominating professional hitters with triple-digit warmthnnStill, Skenes flashed the expertise that enticed the Pirates to pick him with the primary total choose within the 2023 MLB Draft on July 9. recording his first strikeout with a 100 mph four-seam fastball and his second with a biting slider. Skenes sat within the 97-100 mph vary, throwing 12 pitches that touched 99 and two pitches that touched triple digits. Dewey Robinson, the Pirates’ senior advisor of pitching growth, described Skenes as a pitcher who comes round “probably once in every 10 years.”nn“What he brings to the table is extremely impressive,” Robinson mentioned. “The size, the velocity, the durability, the feel for pitches. If you were gonna design the body of pitcher, he comes pretty close. We have to be smart enough to say, ‘OK, we’ll leave this alone,’ and let him go pitch or ask, ‘What are we going to tweak or help him with?’””,”type”:”text”,”__typename”:”OEmbed”,”html”:”

What a way to celebrate our largest attendance in franchise history! We walk it off in front of 10,164 fans tonight! pic.twitter.com/Ejaa4TofbJ

— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) August 27, 2023

nn”,”providerName”:”Twitter”,”providerUrl”:”https://twitter.com”,”type”:”oembed”,”width”:550,”contentType”:”rich”,”__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”Along with Skenes’ talent, the 21-year-old has drawn rave reviews for his off-the-field makeup. Altoona manager Callix Crabbe and Pirates director of coaching and player development John Baker both described Skenes’ self-awareness as rare.nnCrabbe recalled Skenes showing up 45 minutes before the team clubhouse opened on the day of a bullpen session, as well as Skenes’ detailed explanation as to why. Baker remembered how he and Josh Hopper, the Pirates’ coordinator of pitching development, compiled a list of things that they wanted Skenes to refine, only for Skenes to have already compiled that same list.nn“When you look at people that become one-percenters, that’s the thing that you’re going to see. We come to the point where you recognize what you need to do, day in and day out, to become successful,” Crabbe mentioned. “He’s clearly figured that out. … At the same time, he’s not so committed to the routine that he’s not able to deal with some of the subtle nuances and variability in the day-to-day pro environment.”nnSkenes is already at his third Minor League affiliate this month, however one other promotion isn’t on the instant horizon. When requested whether or not Skenes will spend the remainder of Altoona’s season with the crew, Baker mentioned that it’s “probably a fair expectation to have.” Altoona’s season ends on Sept. 17, whereas Triple-A Indianapolis’ season ends on Sept. 24.”,”sort”:”textual content”,”__typename”:”Video”,”contentDate”:”2023-08-20T17:38:25.476Z”,”preferredPlaybackScenarioURL(“preferredPlaybacks”:”mp4AvcPlayback”)”:”https://milb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-08/20/7336c90e-b55e2be6-09d2fa53-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4″,”type”:”video”,”description”:”No. 3 total prospect Paul Skenes places away six batters in two innings for Single-A Bradenton”,”showAsVideoGif”:false,”period”:”00:01:16″,”slug”:”paul-skenes-puts-away-six”,”tags”:[“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”134-affiliate”,”title”:”Pirates affiliate”,”type”:”taxonomy”,”__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”mlb-top-prospects”,”title”:”MLB Top Prospects”,”type”:”taxonomy”,”__typename”:”PersonTag”,”slug”:”playerid-694973″,”title”:”Paul Skenes”,”person”:”__ref”:”Person:694973″,”type”:”player”,”__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”minor-league-baseball”,”title”:”Minor League Baseball”,”type”:”taxonomy”],”thumbnail”:”__typename”:”Thumbnail”,”templateUrl”:”https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/formatInstructions/mlb/opsdscyl7t9pwjkbxdvl”,”title”:”Paul Skenes places away six”,”relativeSiteUrl”:”/video/paul-skenes-puts-away-six”,”__typename”:”Markdown”,”content material”:”Somewhat over a month into his skilled profession, Skenes is already midway to Pittsburgh. Should Skenes string collectively a number of good begins with Altoona, a cup of espresso at Triple-A Indianapolis could possibly be a chance. As far because the 2024 Opening Day roster?nn“He’s definitely gonna put a lot of pressure on us to have to make that decision,” Baker mentioned. “I don’t envy the position that Ben [Cherington, GM] and [manager Derek Shelton] are gonna be in come Spring Training when they see this guy on the mound, because he’s impressive. He’s gonna do everything he can to force our staff to make a really tough decision, and at the end of the day, that’s all we really want to ask of these players anyway: Make it hard.””,”sort”:”textual content”],”contentType”:”news”,”subHeadline”:”Highly touted righty provides up 4 runs on 3 hits, 2 walks in 2/3 of an inning”,”abstract”:”ALTOONA, Pa. — John “Smooth” Wilson has been a team assistant with Altoona for roughly a decade and a half. He’s likely seen more Curve baseball than anyone in attendance at Peoples Natural Gas Field on Saturday night. As fans formed a line on Park Avenue three hours prior to”,”tagline(“formatString”:”none”)”:null,”tags”:[“__typename”:”InternalTag”,”slug”:”storytype-article”,”title”:”Article”,”type”:”article”,”__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-134″,”title”:”Pittsburgh Pirates”,”team”:”__ref”:”Team:134″,”type”:”team”,”__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”mlb-top-prospects”,”title”:”MLB Top Prospects”,”type”:”taxonomy”,”__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”apple-news”,”title”:”Apple News”,”type”:”taxonomy”,”__typename”:”PersonTag”,”slug”:”playerid-694973″,”title”:”Paul Skenes”,”person”:”__ref”:”Person:694973″,”type”:”player”,”__typename”:”GameTag”,”slug”:”gamepk-716842″,”title”:”2023/08/26 chc@pit”,”type”:”game”,”__typename”:”ContributorTag”,”slug”:”justice-delos-santos”,”title”:”Justice delos Santos”,”type”:”contributor”],”sort”:”story”,”thumbnail”:”https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/formatInstructions/mlb/xoylcoaxaeiei6gfdhdp”,”title”:”Paul Skenes makes Double-A debut with Altoona attendance document”}},”Person:694973″:”__typename”:”Person”,”id”:694973,”Team:134″:”__typename”:”Team”,”id”:134}}
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Highly touted righty provides up 4 runs on 3 hits, 2 walks in 2/3 of an inning

3:31 AM UTC

ALTOONA, Pa. — John “Smooth” Wilson has been a crew assistant with Altoona for roughly a decade and a half. He’s possible seen extra Curve baseball than anybody in attendance at Peoples Natural Gas Field on Saturday night time. As followers shaped a line on Park Avenue three hours previous to Paul Skenes’ Double-A debut, Smooth contemplated the opposite video games to command this a lot hype.

There was Stephen Strasburg’s Double-A debut in 2010, Andy Pettitte’s rehab begin in Game 1 of the Eastern League championship collection a number of months later and the Pirates and Curve’s exhibition in 2013. All three video games paled compared to Skenes’ first time toeing the slab in Altoona, an event that commanded a crowd of 10,164, the most important within the ballpark’s historical past.

“I didn’t know that. That’s cool,” mentioned Skenes, the Pirates’ No. 1 prospect and the No. 3 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline. “Obviously, that is not why I play the sport. It’s not why any of us play the sport; we play to win and compete. It is cool to have an viewers, wherever it’s. Playing at LSU and enjoying within the College World Series, you are going to have that it doesn’t matter what. That’s humbling for certain, and I’m glad we might give them a superb sport on the finish of it.”

Skenes couldn’t give the packed home the present that they had hoped for, nor the beginning he wished.

The plan was for Skenes to pitch two innings, however the right-hander recorded simply two outs (each strikeouts), permitting 4 earned runs on three hits and two walks on 33 pitches earlier than being pulled. Skenes, although, maintained perspective.

“A bad outing is just a bad outing,” Skenes mentioned. “It’s just baseball. Obviously, I want to go out there and win and pitch as best as I can every outing, and I’m going to do everything to prepare to do that for every outing. But, it is baseball. The beautiful thing is it’s never as bad as it seems, and it’s never as good as it seems.”

Still, Skenes flashed the expertise that enticed the Pirates to pick him with the primary total choose within the 2023 MLB Draft on July 9. recording his first strikeout with a 100 mph four-seam fastball and his second with a biting slider. Skenes sat within the 97-100 mph vary, throwing 12 pitches that touched 99 and two pitches that touched triple digits. Dewey Robinson, the Pirates’ senior advisor of pitching growth, described Skenes as a pitcher who comes round “probably once in every 10 years.”

“What he brings to the table is extremely impressive,” Robinson mentioned. “The measurement, the rate, the sturdiness, the texture for pitches. If you have been gonna design the physique of pitcher, he comes fairly shut. We must be sensible sufficient to say, ‘OK, we’ll depart this alone,’ and let him go pitch or ask, ‘What are we going to tweak or help him with?’”

Along with Skenes’ expertise, the 21-year-old has drawn rave opinions for his off-the-field make-up. Altoona supervisor Callix Crabbe and Pirates director of teaching and participant growth John Baker each described Skenes’ self-awareness as uncommon.

Crabbe recalled Skenes exhibiting up 45 minutes earlier than the crew clubhouse opened on the day of a bullpen session, in addition to Skenes’ detailed rationalization as to why. Baker remembered how he and Josh Hopper, the Pirates’ coordinator of pitching growth, compiled an inventory of issues that they wished Skenes to refine, just for Skenes to have already compiled that very same listing.

“When you look at people that become one-percenters, that’s the thing that you’re going to see. We come to the point where you recognize what you need to do, day in and day out, to become successful,” Crabbe mentioned. “He’s clearly figured that out. … At the same time, he’s not so committed to the routine that he’s not able to deal with some of the subtle nuances and variability in the day-to-day pro environment.”

Skenes is already at his third Minor League affiliate this month, however one other promotion isn’t on the instant horizon. When requested whether or not Skenes will spend the remainder of Altoona’s season with the crew, Baker mentioned that it’s “probably a fair expectation to have.” Altoona’s season ends on Sept. 17, whereas Triple-A Indianapolis’ season ends on Sept. 24.

Somewhat over a month into his skilled profession, Skenes is already midway to Pittsburgh. Should Skenes string collectively a number of good begins with Altoona, a cup of espresso at Triple-A Indianapolis could possibly be a chance. As far because the 2024 Opening Day roster?

“He’s definitely gonna put a lot of pressure on us to have to make that decision,” Baker mentioned. “I don’t envy the position that Ben [Cherington, GM] and [manager Derek Shelton] are gonna be in come Spring Training when they see this guy on the mound, because he’s impressive. He’s gonna do everything he can to force our staff to make a really tough decision, and at the end of the day, that’s all we really want to ask of these players anyway: Make it hard.”

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