Former LSU Tigers pitcher Paul Skenes struck out eight over seven innings for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the New York Mets on Friday – his tenth career start and ninth outing with seven or more strikeouts.
The electric right-hander now has 78 strikeouts in 59.1 career innings, setting a major league record for most strikeouts in a player’s first ten games.
Skenes was the first overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft out of LSU, where he dominated to the tune of a 13-2 record with a 1.69 ERA and an astonishing 209 strikeouts in 122.2 innings pitched.
He previously pitched at Air Force, where he won the John Olerud Award as the best two-way player in college baseball in 2022.
After just 34 innings in the minor leagues – where he posted a 1.85 ERA with 55 strikeouts – Skenes made his big league debut with the Pirates on May 11 as perhaps baseball’s most anticipated pitching prospect since Stephen Strasburg back in 2010.
He’s projected to take the mound next against the Brewers in Milwaukee on July 10.