Paul Skenes just raised the stakes for rest of MLB with latest announcement

Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes has become the second high-profile player (and newcomer) to declare his intention to play on Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Skenes announced his desire to pitch for the United States on Tuesday morning's installment of MLB Central on MLB Network, co-hosted by Team USA manager Mark DeRosa. Skenes joins Aaron Judge among the early commits to suit up in red, white and blue.

Skenes, 22, has already established himself among MLB's biggest stars, and pitching on the world stage is an obvious next step. He won the National League Rookie of the Year Award, earned MVP votes, an All-Star nod, and came in third place in NL MVP voting in his first year as a professional, and he's sure to blow Japan and the Dominican Republic away in the WBC.

The righty has logged a 2.63 ERA and a 1.006 WHIP with 53 strikeouts and 15 walks over 54.2 innings in 2025. If he continues to pitch at his current level, he alone represents a serious improvement over Team USA's pitching staff in the 2023 WBC.

Pirates ace Paul Skenes intends to join Team USA in 2026 World Baseball Classic to seriously improve its rotation

Team USA's rotation options in 2023 were Merrill Kelly, Lance Lynn, Miles Mikolas, Kyle Freeland, Adam Wainwright and Brady Singer. Lynn and Wainwright have since retired after long careers, both of which include All-Star nominations and World Series championships, and it's clear the U.S.'s rotation needed a jolt of youth. Singer was the youngest pitcher on the staff and he was 25 at the time of the tournament. Kelly has been solid this year, but Mikolas and Freeland are off to rough starts, with 4.35 and 6.41 ERAs, respectively.

Skenes is the first of a new generation of United States-born arms who could take the team to the next level to beat Shohei Ohtani and Team Japan in 2026. Hunter Greene, Garrett Crochet, and Tarik Skubal, along with some veterans like Zack Wheeler, could make the U.S. unstoppable.

The competition will still be stiff, though. Team Japan's pitching staff could include MLB's Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shota Imanaga and Roki Sasaki, and the Dominican Republic could star Sandy Alcántara, Freddy Peralta, Luis Gil and Framber Valdez, among others.

Skenes has represented the USA before — both in baseball and in camouflage during his time at the Air Force Academy — and he knows the stakes. His electric stuff, blistering velocity and years of experience in the stars and bars will help elevate Team USA to, hopefully, win the championship in 2026.