Skenes Shines in Marauders’ Pitching Debut

This past Tuesday’s Bradenton Marauders game at LECOM Park with the Lakeland Flying Tigers was anything but ordinary.

When the MLB’s No.1 overall pick in last month’s annual amateur draft in Seattle took to the pitching mound for the mid-week Florida State League Single-A game,  the ballpark had a buzz not seen this season.

With the Pittsburgh Pirates selecting Paul Skenes as their top draft selection, some baseball fans came great distances to witness the game’s latest would-be phenom. A crowd of 1,617 fans came through the gates at LECOM Park, with many sporting their LSU t-shirts and hats, in support of Skenes’ recent success in the Men’s College World Series.

Skenes was named the most outstanding player of the June tournament held in Omaha, helping the LSU Tigers beat Florida for the national title. Skenes, who transferred to LSU after attending the previous two years at the United States Air Force Academy, wowed pro scouts during the 2023 season with a 12-2 win-loss record, an ERA of 1.69, and collecting 209 strikeouts in 122 innings pitched.

When signing with the Pirates, Skenes’ deal includes a $9.2 million signing bonus. This is the most ever given to a selection in the MLB draft that dates to 1965.

So, when it was announced earlier that Skenes would be suiting up for the Marauders for Tuesday evening’s game, ticket sales were brisk. According to one Marauders’ official, ticket sales were three times more for this past Tuesday with Skenes starting the game, than previous Tuesday games.

Although Skenes, one of 33 players on the Marauders’ roster, tossed a perfect 1-2-3- inning the previous week for the organization’s Florida Complex League team at Pirate City, the right-hander didn’t disappoint on Tuesday, as well.

Again, scheduled to pitch just the first inning against his opponents, Skenes’ line for his efforts on Tuesday is 16 pitches and 10 strikes twirled. The 21-year-old's performance added to the Marauders coming away with a 14-13 win before the home crowd.

Prior to Skenes making his Marauders’ debut, team pitching coach Matt Ford shared the advice given to who many in the game are calling the next Stephen Strasburg.

“Paul had his first bullpen session for us this past Sunday. We just wanted him to get his feet wet; getting used to a routine,” said Ford about the team’s celebrated hurler in Fort Myers.

For Tuesday’s game, Ford kept his advice to Skenes, brief, and to the point. It was suggested to him to compete and have fun.

“I, as well as some of his teammates watching him throw were quickly impressed in how Paul went over hitters, and he impressed us with his scouting of the opposing team.”

As Ford concurs, being under the microscope as Skenes is and will be for the foreseeable future, few could relate to the media coverage and professional expectations thrust upon the native of Fullerton, CA.

Ford, speaking from inside the Bill McKechnie Clubhouse at LECOM Park one hour before first pitch on Tuesday, emphasized that Skenes’ appearances at Pirate City and at LECOM Park were designed to aid in acclimating him to pro ball.

As Skenes went through his warm-up routine in right field nearly an hour before the game’s start time, his popularity with the fans who flocked to get a glimpse of him, was already obvious wherever there was standing room only available in the lower-level seats and on the party deck high above the Marauders’ bullpen.

More than three dozen autograph seekers were squeezed close to the wall separating them and the playing surface, long before Skenes emerged out of the clubhouse. Up on the party deck, more than 100 fans positioned themselves to get a closer look at Skenes, all with their cameras keeping busy recording his every toss.

Seated behind the Marauders’ dugout was Jason Mackey. The Pirates’ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette beat writer traded his scheduled time in New York City to cover Pittsburgh on the road against the Mets, for an up-close view of the much-hyped pitcher in Bradenton.

When it was time for the Marauders to take to the field for the top of the first inning, it was Skenes who led his eight other teammates. Seth Stephenson, the first Flying Tiger who Skenes matched with, slapped a single up the middle. The Marauders' offense matched Skenes' dominance on the pitcher's mound by giving him a four-run advantage in the bottom frame of the first inning.

Skenes didn’t disappoint in Bradenton last week, and this is a trait Pirates fans would like to see continued in Pittsburgh – as early as this season.