Paul Skenes shows how MLB hopes small starts equate to long careers

Skenes made the 11th start of his major league career. His 12th will come Tuesday night in the All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas, with National League manager Torey Lovullo acknowledging that the rookie right-hander is the biggest attraction in the game right now. Whether he allows 10 hits or none, he is out of the game after the first inning.

“We have 11, 12 pitchers moving forward,” said Lovullo, whose day job is to manage the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Showdown in the Midsummer Classic But for the Pirates, and every single club that is trying to develop and protect young pitchers, the push and pull that is happening with baseball is here: The guys are the best pitchers. Would like to see more performances. His clubs are constantly asking him to do less.

It’s been nothing but a phenomenon since the Pirates called up the Skanes in May. After winning the 2023 Men’s College World Series with LSU – where he posted a 209–20 strikeout-walk ratio and allowed 0.75 walks and hits per inning pitched – the Pirates made him the first pick in the draft. His stellar numbers in seven starts in Class AAA this spring – a 0.99 ERA and 0.91 WHIP – earned him a promotion. His performance since then – 6–0 with a 1.90 ERA, 0.95 WHIP with 89 strikeouts and 13 walks in 66⅓ innings – made him an All-Star.

He’s a skyrocketing star in a sport that needs him. Lovullo had the sense to capture that.

“I wanted to make sure the world got a chance to see him,” Lovullo told reporters in Texas on Monday. “We’re going on the biggest stage (Tuesday), and I’m here to support and promote Major League Baseball the best way I know how. … He’s potentially a generational talent. I want to give him every opportunity to get on this stage and show what he can do.”

Of course, with limitations. It’s true that this is due to the exhibition nature of the All-Star Game. But it also defines modern baseball.

Skane’s most recent outing – Thursday at Milwaukee – earned him a start in MLB’s showcase event. Over the first seven innings, Skenes allowed only one walk and no hits to the Brewers. He dismissed 11. He dominated for 99 pitches.

And Pirates manager Derek Shelton ejected him from the game.

“You want to finish the game,” Skenes told reporters in Texas on Monday. “You want to be able to finish what you started. Not just in that inning, but in every game you pitch.”

This is the right mindset for a starting pitcher. It does not reflect the reality of modern baseball.

Sorry to flog a spent horse, but the declining demand for starting pitchers is hurting the game. It’s not Shelton’s fault. It’s not the pirates’ fault. This is the fault of what the cold, hard facts say – that starting pitchers are less effective the third time they see a hitter than the first – and there is an outright fear among front-office types that their The most promising young pitchers will almost inevitably go broke.

Being a model employee, Skenes is helping the Pirates work out of a squirrely place.

“Obviously, I’m 22 years old and I think the whole story is about workload management, managing my volume this year,” Skenes said. “And then, you know, obviously, Sheltie said when he was talking to me in the dugout and when he was looking at me I looked tired.

“I also felt something similar. I was working hard. There were more than 60 pitches in the first three innings. There’s going to be those outings, and (it) kind of sucks that it landed on an outing like this.

This has happened twice so far. In Skenes’ second major league start, he struck out 11 Chicago Cubs while striking out six in six hitless innings. Shelton placed him in seventh place.

This could be smart. It also smells bad. Maybe such caution could extend Skenes’ season or his career. Of course this takes away moments from the game that it needs.

Great efforts are being made to protect players who play little role in determining the outcome of the game. The average starting pitcher pitched 5.29 innings through the first half of this season. Last year it was 5.14. That’s somewhere between 15 and 16 outs, leaving a cadre of relievers throwing gas to get the final 11 or 12 left. The bulk of the labor once falls on the starter; As recently as 2011, the average start was more than six innings. The burden has increased, and is increasing.

Plus, cautionary tales are everywhere. The last pitcher to come through as a rookie with Skane’s level of focus was Stephen Strasburg, who struck out 41 and drove in five runs in his first four starts with the Washington Nationals in 2010. In his 12th start, in August in Philadelphia, he gave up his right blow. Hand. He was removed in the fifth innings. He had Tommy John ligament-replacement surgery on his elbow. He did not compete in major competitions again until the following September.

(In)famously, the Nationals managed Strasburg’s innings the following year – to the extent that he was removed from the rotation, even as Washington reached the playoffs. What was shameless then has become more common now. Skenes has never thrown more than the 129⅓ innings completed last year between college and the minors. He has already reached 93⅔ this season. Baseball, as an industry, keeps a close eye on those numbers. Just a game and a half away from an NL wild-card berth, the Pirates may face questions like Strasburg’s.

However, there is no sure shot method. Clubs continue to monitor pitchers. Pitchers keep blowing out their elbows. Let’s hope Skenes is different. His first 11 starts have been made.

“Hopefully I’ll get a lot of time to play this game,” Skenes said.

fingers crossed. Stopped breathing. The best thing for the game is that Skenes is an outsider, he stays healthy, because he is an attraction who sells tickets and attracts attention. The best thing that could happen for the Pirates is that he gives up a first- or second-inning single every time. That way, when Shelton does what he feels he’s obligated to do, he won’t be robbing Skanes — or the rest of us — of the moment that might have happened.