Former LSU Tigers and current Pittsburgh Pirates major league pitcher Paul Skenes just go announced to the all-star team, despite playing college ball only on year ago at this time.
Skenes’ accelerated climb through the minors has been quite impressive and hit its highest point yet last night when he threw 99 pitches with 11 strikeouts and allowed no hits through seven innings.
No-hitters have become increasingly rarer across the major leagues due to pitchers being put on pitch counts to preserve their arm. And the reason for Skenes’ exit was no different.
Paul Skenes' basbeall background: Skenes’ popularity due to helping lead LSU to the College World Series National Championship in 2023 combined with his rise to the majors has Pirates Manager Derek Shelton’s decision to pull the rookie all the buzz on X (formerly known as Twitter). I took to the platform to ask what fans thought of the move.
How do you feel about Paul Skenes being pulled with a no hitter and 11 k's after seven innings? pic.twitter.com/a5kQIUBzdW
— 🏈 Pigskin Petey 🏈 (@pigskinpetey) July 12, 2024
What did fans think of Paul Skenes being pulled with a no-hitter through seven innings?
Sucks but got to protect ur future & investment!
— Billy Pappadopoulos (@GCBilly) July 12, 2024
Although the way MLB is setup they're protecting,
The Yankees,
Dodger's,
Or RedSox future!
Protecting an asset and your future is a really good point here that is made. Major leaguers have a lot of dollars attached to their name by the time they make it to that level, and Skenes is no different. In fact, Skenes’ contract with the Pirates included a record signing bonus of $9.2 million according to ESPN.
Must not make em like this guy anymore pic.twitter.com/dyJHcbVArS
— Burke (@bazurke2) July 12, 2024
Other fans are more cut and dry. And to be honest, that is the team I am on. Nolan Ryan was as much of a flamethrower as any of them. And to the point of this tweet and photo, you would be hard pressed to find a starting pitcher that gets pulled after seven innings, or any duration for that matter with a no-hitter intact.
I was talking with the father in law this morning about that. Seems they either don’t let them or pitchers can’t/don’t throw CG’s anymore, like ever. I’m sure there’s a science to it and arm health is prolonged, but it’ll sure aid in keeping some pitching records safe lol
— 👍Brent Mills👍 (@BrentMills6378) July 12, 2024
A good point is made here. With all of these early exits with no-hitters intact, a lot of “what if’s” will ensue over the years with different statistical categories. Looking back in another 10 years and seeing the data of number of no-hitters one would predict will be way down, and it will have nothing to do with the talent on the field.
If he was tired then he was tired. Also he had 99 pitches so he would've had to thrown over 130 pitches to complete the no-hitter. It just wasn't worth it for a young pitcher especially since these young pitchers are dropping like flies in MLB
— Josh Simmons⚫🔴🏆 (@JoshSimmons33) July 12, 2024
A good point is made here. Considering Skenes was already at 99 pitches through seven, that would make his average pitch count per inning 14.1. This would equate to another 28 pitches, bringing Skenes to around 130 for the game as the tweet mentions. And that is high for any pitcher- regardless of the time period. Therefore, pulling him through eight if he still had it going may look even worse, but still necessary.