The First Domino?

 

Paul Skenes, in his first 3 MLB games, has gone 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 21 Ks. Of the two games he was not credited for, one the Pirates were able to leg out, while the other got blown up by the bullpen. It tells me that we are early enough in the development of the Pittsburgh Pirates that Paul Skenes alone isn't quite the make or break force powering the Pirates yet. 

Though here's something interesting. Y'know who's hit a home run in each of Skenes' three starts thus far? Andrew McCutchen. Y'know, the LAST big rookie that the Pirates were designed to be built around.

And yes, I know there's been people like Bryan Reynolds, Ke'Bryan Hayes and Oneil Cruz that have developed prior to Skenes' call-up, but nobody cared about Mountcastle til Rutschman got called up. Sometimes, until the central figure comes around, it's just a couple of good young players hanging around. And then the guy appears, and...then it means something. And Skenes' early starts are an extremely good sign for the development of this team. The guy can go 6 innings, strike like 10 people out, and his power comes from his legs. So he's got less of a chance of an elbow issue, though, considering that he throws 100 mph, it's not exactly zero. 

But while Skenes at least has Cruz, Reynolds, Keller and Hayes that are working right now, the rest of this Pirates team needs to develop before Skenes feels more valuable. Cause a lot's on him now, cause he's the hot young thing, and it needs to be on the whole team. And while you're at least seeing Jared Triolo and Nick Gonzales doing well, there hasn't been a ton of true standouts on the hitting end. Hayes is out, Cruz is hitting .250 but struggling defensively, Suwinski and Davis are down in the minors after they were supposed to have big starts to the year. Replacement players are still getting a lot of time in Pittsburgh, and that might be the plan til some of these guys start consistently impressing people. 

And hopefully in that time Paul Skenes, as well as Keller and Jared Jones, will continue to pitch as well as they are now, and continue to be under team control. Because after giving up Jameson Taillon, Gerrit Cole and J.T. Brubaker, the last thing the Pirates want to see is another team taking one of their organizational pitching weapons far. Especially not the Yankees, they've had all three at different points. 

Still, I want Skenes' powerful run to keep going. Eventually, the Pirates will develop around him. It's just not gonna be immediate.

Coming Tomorrow- This year he probably figured he'd be playing for a last place team. The good news is, his team's in fourth right now. The bad news is it's not certain they'll be there for too long.