Top Prospect Paul Skenes to Make Spring Debut Thursday vs. Orioles

Pittsburgh Pirates top prospect Paul Skenes will make his long-awaited Grapefruit League debut on Thursday agaisnt the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota, Fla.

Skenes was the top pick by the Pirates in last year’s draft and made five starts across three levels after he was selected. The right-hander allowed four runs, all of which came in one start, in 6.2 innings pitched between the FCL Pirates, Class-A Bradenton and Double-A Altoona.

The 21-year-old pitched brilliantly with the Louisiana State University Tigers last year after transferring in from the Air Force Academy. Skenes was LSU’s ace and helped lead them to the College World Series after going 13-2 with a 1.69 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 122.2 innings pitched.

Skenes is considered the top pitching prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline and the third-best prospect overall. Coincidently, Orioles infield prospect and fellow first-overall pick Jackson Holliday is ranked as Pipeline’s No. 1 prospect.

Though there might be a slim chance Skenes cracks the Pirates’ opening day roster, the overwhelming expectation is that he will either begin the 2024 season in Altoona or with Triple-A Indianapolis.

Skenes will square off with right-hander Corbin Burnes, who will be making his Orioles’ debut. Baltimore acquired Burnes from the Milwaukee Brewers at the beginning of the month for a pair of players and a draft pick.

Burnes won the 2021 National League Cy Young with the Brewers and has been an All-Star each of the last three seasons. Last year, the 29-year old went 10-8 with a 3.39 ERA in 32 starts.

In his career, Burnes has made 23 regular season appearances agaisnt the Pirates, the most he’s had against any team. He’s gone 7-2 with a 3.53 ERA against them.

The game will not be televised on cable network but can be watched at pirates.com. First pitch: 1:05 ET.

As Pittsburgh Baseball Now’s John Perrotto would say, should be a good ballgame.