What is a splinker? Paul Skenes’ signature pitch, explained

What is Pauk Skenes’ splinker pitch, and why is it so hard to hit?

Pittsburgh Pirates rookie pitcher Paul Skenes thrived in his MLB debut on Saturday, striking out his first batter and helping secure a win over the Chicago Cubs.

While the speed on Skenes’ pitches is garnering a lot of attention, the way he pitches the ball is just as intriguing.

Following the type of pitch that Minnesota Twins reliever Jhoan Duran uses when he’s on the mound, Skenes utilizes a unique pitched called the “splinker.”

Our Charles Curits described it as a “a split-fingered sinker” that’s thrown fast to flummox the opposing batter as it sinks to the ground.

Basically, you split your fingers on the sinker, throw it as hard as you can and hope you get the angle needed to get it as far down in the strike zone as possible to stump the batter.

You can watch Skenes’ “splinker” pitch below.

We hope all opposing MLB batters are ready for this one when they play Skenes and the Pirates this season. This one looks hard to stop.

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