Paul Skenes hyping Oneil Cruz after Home Run Derby selection will fire up Pirates fans

Paul Skenes was, of course, honored to be named to the National League's All-Star roster for the second season in a row. But suffice it to say, he's less excited to pitch in the Midsummer Classic than he is to watch his Pittsburgh Pirates teammate, Oneil Cruz, destroy baseballs at the Home Run Derby.

Skenes, who in an interview on MLB Network Radio earlier this week described Cruz's batting practice as "the most impressive batting practice I've ever seen in my life," was ecstatic to learn that Cruz had been confirmed as the fifth player to join the derby field, and would be joining him for the upcoming All-Star festivities at Truist Park in Atlanta.

"Yeah, I was fired up," Skenes told Hannah Mears of SportsNet Pittsburgh. "I'm excited for him. Selfishly, I'm excited to, you know, get to watch him hit [batting practice], where the only thing that he's trying to do is hit the ball over the fence and get to watch it from the field. It's gonna be pretty cool."

Pirates Home Run Derby history ahead of Paul Skenes watching Oneil Cruz crush baseballs

Cruz is the first Pirates player to compete in the derby since Josh Bell in 2019. Other former Pirates contestants include Pedro Álvarez in 2013, Andrew McCutchen in 2012, Jason Bay in 2005, Barry Bonds in 1992 and Bobby Bonilla in 1990. No Pirates player has ever won the Home Run Derby, but Skenes believes that Cruz could change that this year.

"I don't know what the normal threshold is for winning the Home Run Derby, how many you typically have to hit," Skenes said. "But I think he's going to do it pretty easily. I mean, he mis-hits balls all the time that go out, and watching him do it in Atlanta is going to be cool. He's going to hit some balls over the Chop House and all that, so I'm fired up."

Cruz holds the record for the hardest hit home run of the Statcast era (since 2015) at 122.9 mph on May 25, and six of the 10 balls hit over 110 mph in the MLB this season have been his handiwork. He is also responsible for 11 of the 19 hardest hit baseballs since his MLB debut in 2022, according to Alex Stumpf of MLB.com.

Cruz hit the longest home run of his career (472 feet) on July 27, 2024, off Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Brandon Pfaadt at Chase Field. Skenes said he is confident that Cruz will not only shatter that record, but that he will crush at least one ball farther than 500 feet. Whether he does it or not, fans will be in for a treat as they get a front row seat to watch one of the game's premier power hitters on baseball's biggest stage Monday night.

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