Paul Skenes Bounces Back in Second Double-A Start; Strikes Out Three

After Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Paul Skenes was knocked around in his Double-A debut, he bounced back and delivered a strong performance in his second start for the Altoona Curve.

Facing the Erie SeaWolves, the 2023 No. 1 overall pick pitched two scoreless innings. He allowed one hit, didn’t walk a batter and struck out three.

He began his first outing by striking out the first two batters he faced. He punched out Erie leadoff hitter Trei Cruz on three pitches before striking out Justin Bigbie with an off-speed pitch.

After Jace Jung grounded a single up the middle, Skenes got out of the first inning by inducing a groundout to third.

In the second inning, Skenes fielded a weak comebacker and tossed to first for the first out. After another weak groundout for the second out of the inning, Skenes capped off his outing with a swinging strikeout of Corey Joyce.

Skenes mixed in a healthy amount of off-speed pitches throughout his outing and threw 18 of his 25 pitches for strikes. He was again sitting in the upper-90s with his fastball.

In his first outing with Altoona, Skenes wasn’t able to get out of the first inning. He ended up with four earned runs on his line after allowing three hits, walking a pair and striking out two.

Outside of that start, Skenes has kept his opponents off the scoreboard in his other four professional outings between Single-A Bradenton and Altoona.

Paul Skenes is rated as the Pirates’ No. 1 prospect and the third-best prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. The right-hander is also considered the top pitching prospect in the league.