[autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag], the No. 1 pick in the 2023 MLB draft, made his first appearance as a professional baseball player on Thursday with the Florida Complex League Pirates.
Making the start for the rookie-level Pittsburgh affiliate, Skenes pitched just one inning but retired all three of the batters he faced. His pitches topped out at 101 MPH, and he struck out fifth overall pick and Minnesota Twins prospect Walker Jenkins with a 99 MPH fastball.
The Pirates are likely to be cautious with Skenes down the stretch this season as he’s coming off a pretty hefty workload while leading LSU to a national title and earning National Pitcher of the Year honors.
Paul Skenes strikes out Walker Jenkins with a 99 MPH fastball🔥
He topped at 101 and retired all three batters he faced in his pro debutđź’Ż pic.twitter.com/5S9bs4AUJn
— Austin Oravec (@austinoravec) August 10, 2023
Skenes, who agreed to a record signing bonus of $9.2 million, isn’t the only former Tiger impressing early in the minors. After going 3-for-3 in his rookie-level debut, No. 2 pick [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] earned a call-up to Washington’s Class-A team, the Fredericksburg Nationals.
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