Pirates' Six-Game Slump: Time to Call Up Skenes?
Photo Credit: Jonathan Dyer, USA TODAY
The Pittsburgh Pirates have gone cold as a team. Would calling up baseball’s number three prospect help shift the momentum back in their favor?
After an extremely hot 9-2 start, the Pirates have fallen off a cliff, putting up the inverse record of 2-9 since, including their current six-game losing streak. Meanwhile, Paul Skenes, the Pirates’ top prospect, has been absolutely dominating in AAA with 27 strikeouts in 12 scoreless innings. Pirates fans and baseball fans alike continue to wonder, when will he be called up to the big league club?
While the Pirates’ early hot stretch included series against the abysmal Miami Marlins and young Washington Nationals teams, there was still plenty of reasons to believe they could be competitive in a tight NL Central. A series win against the Baltimore Orioles solidified this sentiment. However, since then, the bats have gone cold and the weak pitching has been on full display. This six-game losing streak leads into a tough four-game series against the division rival Milwaukee Brewers. If the bleeding does not end soon, the Pirates will find themselves out of the NL Central race before the season has really gotten going.
Photo Credit: AP
Many look to Skenes, the Pirates No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, to help turn the ship around. With Marco Gonzales going to the injured-list with a forearm injury, the move just makes sense. However, the Pirates as an organization seem to want to slowly work their star pitcher into things. In fact, Skenes has yet to pitch over 3.1 innings in his first four starts. With his high velocity and intense stuff, the Pirates’ caution for injury is warranted, but if they keep waiting, it may be too late for Skenes to help the team compete in 2024. There is such thing as being too cautious.
Skenes expressed some frustration about his workload management after his most recent start. Coming off a season in the NCAA in which he pitched 122 innings over 19 starts, it is fair for the 21-year-old to want more pitching opportunities. While he has shown he is more than ready to take on Major League batters, preparing him for the hefty workload is necessary, but eventually being overly wary is going to hurt the big league club.
While there is no timeline for Skenes’ MLB debut, the Pirates as an organization are certainly beginning to feel the pressure from fans near and far. Pirates fans have had little to be excited about over the past decade, so they are champing at the bit to get one of the game’s best pitchers into their rotation.
The Pirates look to put their losing streak to an end tomorrow versus the Brewers, and Skenes eyes his next start for the Indianapolis Indians at some point this upcoming week against the Omaha Storm Chasers, where he will hopefully get to increase his workload. Whenever the debut does finally come, it is guaranteed to be one of the most talked about debuts in the history of baseball.
