Indianapolis, Get to Know Paul Skenes Before It’s Too Late

He’s here. Probably not for very long after throwing 3.0 perfect innings with five strikeouts in his Triple-A debut on Saturday at Louisville Slugger Field. But for the moment, Paul Skenes is the hottest pitching prospect in Minor League Baseball and Victory Field has him.

How exciting is that? Let’s ask the Indians pitching coach. “He is incredible in every way,” Drew Benes said, envisioning the spring pitching tour de force to come. “The way he’s wired, the way he goes about his work, the focus, obviously the ability. It’s all there. Just walking through this stage with him, it’ll be a lot of fun.”

A diary of the recent life and times of Paul Skenes might explain what all the fuss is about.

It is June 2, 2023. The LSU Tigers are starting down an NCAA Tournament road they hope will lead to a College World Series title in Omaha. They are one of the big favorites and the staggering numbers of their No. 1 starting pitcher are a reason why. Skenes, the college pitcher of the year, has struck out 167 batters in 90 innings while walking only 17. Overmatched opposing batters are hitting .166 against him. Will his dominance of the spring carry over to the higher temperatures – figuratively and literally – of June in college baseball?

The answer is quick and unmistakable. Skenes throws a complete game victory against Tulane, gives up seven hits, strikes out 12, walks nobody and throws 124 pitches. “He uses all quadrants of the plate, in and out and up, and spins the curveball,” Tulane coach Jay Uhlman says. “And when you have the numbers that you have and you’ve won and you’re used to doing that, you tend to have a different kind of confidence and swagger about you.

“And he’s a horse.”

It is June 10. LSU is at home beginning a best-of-three super regional with Kentucky, the winner headed for Omaha. Skenes is entrusted to get the Tigers through the crucial first game of a short series. He gives up no runs and four hits in 7.2 innings, striking out nine, as the Tigers roll 14-0. Afterward, Kentucky coach Nick Mingione tries to describe what his guys had been up against.

“There were two things. One, he was up to 102 miles per hour, and two, he threw more off-speed pitches than he did fastballs. Let that sink in. He threw the ball 102 miles per hour and he threw more off-speed pitches than he did fastballs.”

It is June 17. LSU’s first game at the College World Series, facing the fearsome bats of Tennessee. Is Paul Skenes ready for his moment on the big stage?

Well, yeah. He throws 14 fastballs in the first inning of 100 mph or more. Welcome to Omaha. He works 7.2 innings and 123 pitches, allows five hits and two runs and LSU wins 6-3. He strikes out 12 for an even 200 for the season, and he is still topping 100 eight times in his final inning, But the thing is, his change and slider are doing a lot of the damage. “The fastball was on and off to be honest,” he says. Really?

Tennessee designated hitter Griffin Merritt: “The guy has four pitches that he can throw for strikes. And everybody sees the velocity. And that doesn't help when you're at the plate. But his ability to locate pitches and his ability to mix pitches, 2-0 is not an automatic fastball down the middle.

“Obviously Paul’s really good. There’s no other way to put it.”

It is June 22. LSU vs. No. 1 seed Wake Forest for the right to advance to the College World Series finals. A full house in Omaha settles in for the pitching epic to come.

It is Skenes against Wake Forest’s Rhett Lowder, and neither will blink. The zeroes go up one inning after another until the untouched starters finally turn the scoreless classic over to the bullpens. LSU wins 2-0 on a walk-off homer in the 11th. Skenes, with no margin for error, makes none. Eight innings, two hits, one walk and nine strikeouts on 120 pitches. Lowder had given up only three hits and two walks in 7.0 innings. “It was one of the best pitched college baseball games I’ve ever seen,” Wake Forest coach Tom Walter says.

LSU sweeps Florida in two games in the best-of-three championship series. Had there been a necessary third game, Skenes would have been back out there. His final college season: 13-2, strikeout-to-walk ratio of 209 to 20, 15.3 strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched. The ERA, 1.69. “I think what gets lost with him sometimes because his stuff is so amazing, the pitch execution is tremendous,” LSU coach Jay Johnson says. “And when you put that kind of stuff with that kind of execution, you have Paul Skenes.”

There is this interlude from an LSU press conference, when Skenes is asked what advice he would give kids facing a pitcher like him. “Be ready for the fastball. I don't know what else to say,” he answers. Sitting next to him, teammate Brayden Jobert agrees, “That's pretty much it. That's all you can do.”

It is Aug. 10. The Pittsburgh Pirates had made Skenes the No. 1 draft pick. The Washington Nationals followed by taking LSU outfielder Dylan Crews, making this the first time in history college teammates go 1-2 in the draft. No wonder the Tigers were so hard to beat in Omaha. Anyway, Skenes makes his professional debut in the Rookie-level Florida Coast League, retires all three batters he faces and throws 11 pitches, 10 of them 99 miles per hour or higher.

He’s on his way.

And to think, it was not that long ago he was headed to Colorado Springs with a far different view of his future, the massive potential as a pitcher not yet evident, even to his own mind. “I committed to the Air Force Academy because I wanted to have a really good job for a long time and do some cool stuff,” he says. “Then it kind of turned into becoming a major league player.”

Now it is early April in Indianapolis. Skenes had only a brief dive into the minor leagues last summer, working 6.2 innings with 10 strikeouts, as the Pirates wished to minimize his load after a long college season. He was impressive in limited spring training work, and it is clear the time is coming soon that the big-league club will make the call. But he will get some development with the Indians first, and it is hard to name the last time a prospect arrived in Indianapolis with more fanfare and expectation.

Skenes will turn 22 on May 29. No need to rush. He’s often compared to Stephen Strasburg in terms of the to-do made about his arrival, and Strasburg had five Arizona Fall League starts and 11 minor league outings before moving up. Gerrit Cole, a No. 1 overall draft choice by the Pirates in 2011, had 43 starts – five in the Arizona Fall League, 25 between High-A Bradenton and Double-A Altoona, and 13 with the Indians – before going to Pittsburgh.

“I think for me it’s just showing up every day and doing the work and then give it time, and it’s all going to come to fruition,” Skenes said. “I know kind of broadly what the end goal is. I don’t know what it looks like exactly but I’m going to make that happen every day by showing up every day and doing the work. I’ve known that for a while I think, when the results start to come, the process doesn’t change.”

His immediate plans?

“Seeing how my stuff plays for sure. Just throwing all my pitches and see how my stuff works. But it is tough to do when I’m only throwing one inning or two innings at a time. So, building up, building volume, getting ready for the long season ahead.”

No, he corrected that. “The long seasons ahead.”

Skenes has grown accustomed to one reality in the stands. The moment he throws a pitch, all eyes turn toward the scoreboard to see what the radar gun reports. His fastball is scrutinized more for speed than lead foots on Interstate 70. But what has baseball people so excited about him is that he has five pitches in his arsenal, from the two and four-seamer heat to the curve, slider and change.

“I think it’s kind of funny. It’s obviously part of the puzzle but it doesn’t tell the whole story,” Skenes remarked of all the attention on his fastball clockings. “And I think that’s what a lot of people who don’t know the game a ton are looking at most. It’s a tool. It’s kind of funny but it’s nice to have.”

As Benes said, “Anytime you see 102 pop up on the velo board that’s fun. But I’m really impressed with what he can do with his stuff as opposed to just how hard it is. He can pitch. He knows how to read hitters, what to throw when. He just does a really good job of paying attention to the game and competing with all his weapons so I’m excited to watch him.”

The past year had been a bit of a blur for Skenes. He still reflects on those golden moments in Omaha. “I try to do it every day. I think that’s super important in the process of living, not just as a baseball player, winning a national championship or getting drafted, but just living your life, to look back and reflect.”

But there is a future to prepare for as well. “If the callup happens tomorrow or next year or the year after that it doesn’t change the fact that I have to go out there and pitch well,” he said. “That happens through doing work. It’s fun to think about and talk about but we’ll know when the callup is going to happen because the callup is going to happen. Nothing changes in my process.”

Pittsburgh awaits. Indianapolis gets him first.