The Pittsburgh Pirates have decided not to limit Paul Skenes’ innings for the 2024 season.
Even though the Pirates are struggling this year, sitting seven games below .500 and in last place in their division, they still want Skenes to pitch. The rookie has already thrown 125 1/3 innings this season, with most of them at the major league level. Last year, he pitched 129 1/3 innings for LSU.
The Pirates have been careful with Skenes since drafting him first overall last year. They slowly increased his pitch count over his starts. He didn’t throw more than 50 pitches until his third start and reached 80 pitches only in his MLB debut on May 11.
Managing Skenes’ Workload
Since joining Pittsburgh in May, Skenes has made all of his starts with extra rest. On average, he pitches a bit more than six innings per game and throws about 98 pitches each time. His highest pitch count was 107 against the New York Mets on July 5.
Fans might think it’s risky to keep pushing a young pitcher like this.
Skenes stands tall at 6-foot-6 and weighs 235 pounds, making him an ideal candidate to become an ace pitcher for the team. Over his last 16 starts, he has a strong ERA of 2.30 and a FIP of 2.91 with an impressive total of 121 strikeouts in just 98 innings. He even started the All-Star Game for the National League.
The Pirates believe that allowing Skenes to continue pitching will help him develop into a star player who can lead their rotation for years to come.
What do you think? Should they keep letting him pitch or give him some rest?
