For the first time in 2025, it’s Paul Skenes Day for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Skenes is set to make his spring training debut against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. ET at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla. His first scheduled start earlier this week against the Philadelphia Phillies was postponed due to inclement weather.
One of the biggest storylines heading into the 2025 season is how Skenes follows up his historic rookie campaign. Despite not making his first MLB start until May 11, he dominated the competition, earning the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year Award and finishing third in the NL Cy Young voting.
Had he begun the season in the majors, Skenes might have had a stronger case to win the Cy Young and join Fernando Valenzuela (1981) as just the second rookie to claim both honors. If he were to win the award in 2025, he’d be the first Pirates pitcher to do so since Doug Drabek in 1990.
Entering 2024 as one of the most highly touted pitching prospects in baseball history, Skenes exceeded even the loftiest expectations. He posted an 11-3 record with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts, setting a Pirates rookie record with 170 strikeouts over 133 innings.
His dominance put him in rare company—he became the first pitcher in MLB history to record an ERA under 2.20 with at least 150 strikeouts in his first 21 appearances. He was also just the second pitcher since 1913 to post an ERA below 2.00 through his first 22 outings.
Adding to his accolades, Skenes became the first rookie pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Hideo Nomo in 1995.
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