Paul Skenes called up by Pittsburgh Pirates
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The Pittsburgh Pirates have called up pitcher and top prospect Paul Skenes.
The Pirates called up the 21-year-old pitcher from Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday, the team announced in a video posted to social media. Skenes' highly anticipated big league debut is set for Saturday against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park.
Skenes is coming to Pittsburgh after dominating during his time with Triple-A Indianapolis. In seven starts, he tallied a 0.99 ERA in 27 1/3 innings. He struck out 45 batters, walked eight batters and allowed 17 hits over 422 pitches for the Indianapolis Indians.
The right-handed pitcher struck out at least five in six of seven starts and did not allow a home run until his final minor league start on May 5. The 21-year-old Skenes, who pitched more than five innings once, was assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis in March.
Skenes was drafted No. 1 overall by the Pirates in last July's draft. He signed a contract with Pittsburgh that included a record $9.2 million signing bonus. Skenes posted a 13-2 record en route to winning the 2023 College World Series in his final season at LSU.
MLB.com ranks Skenes as the No. 3 overall prospect. Skenes ended last season in Double-A with the Altoona Curve. His spring training debut with the Pirates came in February when he threw 10 pitches against the Baltimore Orioles.
How to get tickets for Paul Skenes' MLB debut
If you want to get in the building for Skenes' MLB debut on Saturday, there are plenty of options to get tickets.
Through the team, tickets start at $40, at the time of publication.
There are also third-party options to get tickets. Gametime has tickets for $28, StubHub has tickets for $30, SeatGeek has tickets for $33 and Ticketmaster has tickets for $37.
