Pirates' Paul Skenes goes viral during offseason bullpen session in California

National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes already created countless viral moments throughout his historic MLB debut campaign in 2024; and the excitement hasn't stopped, even in the offseason.

Skenes recently traveled to Irvine, California to work out at the Chapman Baseball Compound, a facility that uses a data-driven approach to player development that includes strength training and conditioning, in addition to technique.

There, he threw a bullpen session caught by Noah Espinoza, a catcher for the club baseball team at Cal State Fullerton.

Espinoza, who occasionally posts point-of-view videos from bullpen and batting practice sessions on Tik Tok, treated fans to a one-of-a-kind experience of watching the flame-throwing Skenes from a catcher's perspective.

Pirates' Paul Skenes goes viral during offseason bullpen session in California

Skenes ran through his full arsenal in the bullpen session with Espinoza, including his curveball, changeup, splinker, slider, and fastball – the latter of which has clocked in at upwards of 104 mph. While he wasn't throwing at full speed during the session (Espinoza said in the comments that while he never checked the radar gun, he assumed that the pitches were in the low- to mid-90s), Skenes still looked as nasty as ever. Seriously, imagine trying to hit this guy.

Indeed, Skenes spent his rookie campaign frustrating opposing batters across the league. Despite spending the first month-plus of the 2024 season in Triple-A Indianapolis before getting called up to make his MLB debut on May 11, the Pirates star still managed to put together a tremendous rookie season (that wasn't even a full season).

Skenes finished the year with an 11-3 record and a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts, setting a franchise record for a rookie with 170 strikeouts over 133 innings pitched. He was also the first pitcher in MLB history to have an ERA below 2.20 and more than 150 strikeouts in his first 21 games, and just the second pitcher since 1913 to have an ERA below 2.00 through his first 22 appearances in the big leagues.

As Skenes prepares to be unleashed for his first full MLB season – hopefully, with no more training wheels – it's not out of the question that he could set even more records en route to his first career Cy Youg Award. But awards or not, if Skenes' bullpen video is any indication, Pirates fans have plenty to be excited about in 2025.

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