Former LSU Tiger and No. 1 overall 2023 MLB draft pick Paul Skenes will make his debut in Single-A with the Bradenton Marauders, a minor league affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
LSU fans can watch Skenes’ debut for free in what will be the Minor League Free Game of the Day. The stream will be available on MLB.com and MLB.TV for the game against the Lakeland Flying Tigers, which begins at 5:30 p.m. CT.
Don’t expect Skenes to see a ton of action in the game, though. He earned the call-up after pitching just one inning — a 1-2-3 affair that took just 11 pitches — at the rookie level.
Paul Skenes is set to make his Single-A debut on Tuesday! pic.twitter.com/WPcElz28Et
— Bradenton Marauders (@The_Marauders) August 12, 2023
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said the club will be “very conservative” when it comes to Skenes’ workload after he pitched a full collegiate season already this summer. He may not see more than 20 innings the rest of the way.
Cherington on Skenes: "We're going to be very conservative with the volume with Paul. … But it was important that he got into competitive pitching situations."
Cherington said it's possible he could see levels above Bradenton this year.
— Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) August 13, 2023
Skenes could be on the fast track through the minor leagues, and LSU fans will get a glimpse of him against some better professional hitters on Tuesday.
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