Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Paul Skenes Continues to Mow Down Opposing Batters

Making his third professional start, Paul Skenes once again flashed why the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him no. 1 overall with another impressive outing on Sunday afternoon

Sunday afternoon Paul Skenes made his third professional start, and second in a row with the Low-A Bradenton Marauders. Just as he had done in his first two starts, the righty continued to show why the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him no. 1 overall in the draft last month.

Skenes pitched two hitless, scoreless innings for the Marauders on Sunday afternoon. The only two base runners he allowed reached via a dropped third strike by catcher Justin Miknis and a fielding error by first baseman Omar Alfonzo.

Skenes continues to dominate opposing batters with a high-90s sinker and an absolutely wicked slider. His four-seamed fastball has also hit triple digits on multiple occasions across his three minor league starts.

Through his first three professional starts Skenes has pitched 4 scoreless innings. He has allowed just one hit, has not walked a batter, and he has struck out five. The early returns on Skenes are that he is exactly what the Pirates were expecting with the no. 1 overall pick in the draft.

The next time Skenes toes the rubber it should be with Double-A Altoona. From there, the question will become if Skenes reaches Triple-A before the end of the season or spends the final few weeks of the minor league season with Altoona.