Paul Skenes shows off electric stuff in pro debut

Former LSU Tigers pitcher Paul Skenes is picking up right where he left off at the conclusion of the 2023 season college baseball season. Skenes, who is with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ minor league affiliate, the FCL Pirates, made his debut on Thursday. And despite the time between appearances, the former Tiger was still throwing heat hotter than a South Texas summer.

In Skenes’ official first Major League trip to the mound, he faced off against FCL Twins’ Walter Jenkins, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft. The LSU product launched rockets towards the plate and struck out Jenkins. Skenes’ strikeout pitch was clocked at 99 mph. But that wasn’t the fastest ball thrown in that at-bat. Earlier, the righty ace hurled some major filth that clocked in at 101 mph.

Skenes retired all three batters he faced in 1.0 IP. You can check out Skenes’ first Major League strikeout in the video below.

Paul Skenes strikes out Walker Jenkins with a 99 MPH fastball🔥

He topped at 101 and retired all three batters he faced in his pro debut💯 pic.twitter.com/5S9bs4AUJn

— Austin Oravec (@austinoravec) August 10, 2023

More on Skenes

While Jenkins was taken No. 5 overall by the Minnesota Twins, the top pick belonged to the Pirates. And they selected none other than Paul Skenes with the No. 1 overall pick.

Skenes finished the 2023 season with the Tigers as a national champion, winning the National Pitcher of the Year Award, the SEC Pitcher of the Year and the Dick Howser Trophy as the nation’s top player.

He pitched in 19 games with a 12-2 record, 1.69 ERA, 0.750 WHIP and 209 strikeouts in just 122.2 innings. His 209 strikeouts set the SEC record, breaking Ben McDonald‘s record of 202 set in 1989. After his dominant season with the Tigers, Skenes won the National Pitcher of the Year award and D1Baseball Player of the Year.

But in addition to his talents on the mound, Skenes has proven he can get the job done at the plate, as well. At Air Force, he hit .367 with 24 home runs and 81 RBI in 341 at-bats over two years. He has said he also plans to hit when he gets to MLB.

Skenes, a transfer from Air Force, made a name for himself in a huge way in 2023. He set the SEC record for most strikeouts in a season with 209, topping the mark set by Ben McDonald in 1989. He helped lead LSU to a national championship with some huge performances in the College World Series en route to Most Outstanding Player honors. McDonald and Skenes are the only two LSU players to ever be drafted No. 1 overall in the MLB Draft.