National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes Is One of Spring Training's Star Attractions
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes won so many awards in his first year in the big leagues that it’s easy to forget he’s just 22 years old.
Let’s recap: Skenes, the league’s No. 1 draft pick in 2023, was called up from the minors in May 2024 and made his Major League Baseball debut against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. In that first outing, he struck out seven batters in just four innings, and he ended the season with an 11-3 record and an ERA (earned run average) of 1.96—which means that teams could expect to score fewer than two runs on him for every nine innings he pitched. He also racked up 170 strikeouts.
Known for what’s called a “splinker” pitch—a cross between a splitter and a sinker—Skenes has thrown balls as fast as 101.9 miles per hour. He played so well so quickly that he was named the National League’s starting pitcher for the 2024 All-Star Game. At the end of the season, he won the National League’s Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year award, and he was a finalist for the Cy Young award, the league’s top pitching honor.
Before joining the majors, Skenes grew up in California, attended the Air Force Academy and then became a star at Louisiana State University, where he met his girlfriend, gymnast and social media sensation Livvy Dunne.
Add all of that up, and it’s clear that as the 2025 season begins for Skenes and the Pirates with spring training in Bradenton, the future is bright. But how does he deal with all the attention?
“It’s a new normal, but in the offseason, people forget you a little bit because it’s not baseball season,” Skenes says. “It never completely goes away. But I have good people around me.”
The Pirates finished 76-86 last year. According to Skenes, during this year’s spring training at LECOM Park, which lasts through Monday, March 24, he and the Pirates are planning to raise the bar. “There’s more certainty with the pitching staff about where we are [as a team],” he says. “We compete against each other. We make each other better.”
He’s also looking forward to being back on the field. “The off-season’s way too long,” he says. “I had my time off, and then it was like, ‘All right, let’s do it again.’ I’m looking forward to facing hitters again and”—he laughs—“punching guys out.”
When he’s not on the field, Skenes tries to relax and recover—“veg out a little bit,” he says. Now that he knows how his body reacts to throwing more pitches over a longer period of time, he can prepare for it. “We know how to tailor our training to how my back, hips and shoulder respond,” he says. (His signature thick mustache—a design element on a lot of Pirates merch—is giving way to a beard this season, however.)
As for the Pirates’ chances this year, he’s optimistic but clear-headed. “We need to play better,” he says. “We’re going to have our opportunities to win, so we have to take advantage of them. It’s not complicated. There’s no reason why we can’t play fundamental baseball and execute at a very high level.”
