Paul Skenes' famous warmup routine inspired by ex-Twins pitching coach and reliever

Paul Skenes is probably the most dominant pitcher in baseball and his warmup routine catches a lot of attention.

Jul 23, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

One of the main reasons fans flock to the bullpen area when Paul Skenes is preparing to pitch isn't just to hear the sound of a 100 mph fastball slamming into a catcher's mitt, it's also to witness what is becoming one of the most unique warmup routines in sports.

Paul Skenes's Warmup Routine. pic.twitter.com/VGGq1H9CSJ

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 11, 2024

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Skenes' pregame routine inclludes mimicking his pitchign motion with the help of a large orange stick and then going through his delivery with a red resistance band stretched high above his head. That then leads to about a dozen repetitions of his delivery with a blue water bag strapped to his back.

It's a routine that Skenes developed in college with the help of former Minnesota Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson, who left the Twins in 2022 for the same job at LSU. Johnson explained on MLB Network Radio on Sunday that he introduced the warmup routine to Skenes as a drill that Johnson used with former Twins reliever Trevor May. May just happened to be hosting the MLB radio show when Johnson joined on Sunday.

"Trevor, you and I did the red band stuff together back in the day, I'll never forget when I introduced this, I told your story to him. I said, 'Hey, Paul, there was this guy I had with the Twins, just a dude out of the pen, threw cheddar biscuits. I said we got him in this drill and things clicked and it was awesome,'" Johnson told May. "I told him that story about you and we put him in that red band, I'll never forget that... I told him that story, he did it, it clicked as well and since then we've been able to add some water bags and different things that he likes."

Johnson said the drills are designed to help Skenes get the lower half of his body going in the the rigth direction to help maximize his already incredible pitching skills.

Johnson was the Twins pitching coach from 2019 to 2022 and worked with May for two seasons. With a 1.93 ERA in 12 starts this season, Skenes is nearly a lock to win NL Rookie of The Year and he might even work his way into the NL Cy Young discussion.