Report: Pirates' Top Pitching Prospect Could Make His Debut Against Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs could see the debut of the top pitching prospect in baseball when they the face the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Dylan Sanders | May 3, 2024

Mar 3, 2024; North Port, Florida, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) throws a pitch in / Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

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The Chicago Cubs could be the first team to face the top pitching prospect in baseball.

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes is scheduled to make a minor league start on Sunday, but could be coming up to the majors for the May 10 game against the Cubs per Noah Hiles of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette during an appearance on 93.7 The Fan Wednesday afternoon.

This is not an official announcement, but it seems like that is the plan right now.

Skenes was the first overall selection in the 2023 MLB draft and has dominated the minor leagues all season.

Through six starts and 23 innings pitched in Triple-A ball, the 22-year-old has a 0.39 ERA with an absurd 41 strikeouts to just six walks. That's a 16.0 K/9, which would lead the Majors for pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched in 2024.

All of baseball has been calling for the California native to be called up, as it's clear that he has been simply too dominant to be in the minors for too much longer.

Now, it appears that the time has come.

Skenes broke out to stardom in 2023 when he transferred to the LSU Tigers and led them to a national championship season.

In his 19 starts for LSU, he pitched 122 2/3 innings with a 1.69 ERA. He had similar strikeout success with 209, which is a 15.3 K/9 ratio.

He's known for his signature velocity as he leads all minor league pitchers with 89 pitches of at least 100 mph.

The Pirates have slowly ramped up his work load, with him pitching a career-high six innings in his last outing. His previous high was 4 1/3 innings.

If all goes well on Sunday, it should be time for him to get the call.

Chicago will begin their series against Pittsburgh in PNC Park on May 10.

Published May 3, 2024

DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders