Former New York Yankees Star Doesn't Hold Back About Pirates’ Paul Skenes

CC Sabathia, a former New York Yankees star, spoke out about rising Pirates' star Paul Skenes.

Jun 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) delivers a pitch against the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning at PNC Park. / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Not terribly long ago, CC Sabathia was an absolute star with the New York Yankees. It seems like ages ago, but it isn't too far in the rearview mirror.

Since retiring, Sabathia has made appearances on different media shows to talk about baseball fairly often. He did so once again today on the "Pat McAfee Show."

One of the topics that was discussed was about Pittsburgh Pirates rising star pitcher Paul Skenes.

Sabathia is clearly a fan of the 22-year-old rising star. He spoke out about the topic in a segment of the show.

"Paul Skenes is the real deal and he's gonna be a bonafide ace for a very long time. He's been electric and I wanna see him in the All-Star Game."

Here's a video of the segment so that you can watch Sabathia talking about Skenes for yourself:

"Paul Skenes is the real deal and he's gonna be a bonafide ace for a very long time..

He's been electric and I wanna see him in the All-Star Game" ~ @CC_Sabathia #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/9oCy5IEPqd

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 19, 2024

Skenes has taken Major League Baseball by storm this season. Very rarely does a 22-year-old starting pitcher come up and immediately become one of the best in the game.

So far this season, Skenes has started in seven games for the Pirates. He has compiled a 4-0 record to go along with a 2.29 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and a 7.6 K/BB ratio.

Those numbers explain why Sabathia talked so highly about the Pittsburgh star.

Many believe that Skenes should be a definite All-Star selection. However, there are some who don't think that he has done enough this season in just seven starts to earn that honor.

Behind Skenes' breakout season so far, he has helped lead the Pirates to a 35-38 record. They are currently in the thick of the NL Wild Card race and are in third place in the NL Central division race.

Taking a break from talking about Pittsburgh to focus about the Yankees, New York is viewed as the top World Series favorite by most at this stage of the season.

The Yankees hold a 51-24 record, which places them as the No. 1 team in baseball. They are just ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies in that spot.

All of that being said, it will be interesting to see whether or not Skenes ends up getting into the All-Star game. If it was up to Sabathia, he would be in. The wait begins to find out whether or not the former New York star pitcher's opinion is agreed with by the voters.