Paul Skenes heading to Pirates spring training as a non-roster invite

Paul Skenes will get to work with the big-league club after pitching just 6.2 innings in the minors at the end of last season.

[autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] won’t be the only member of LSU’s 2023 national title team who will get the chance to participate in spring training with the big-league club.

On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced that No. 1 draft pick pitcher [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] would also be getting an invite to spring training as a non-roster invite.

After a dominant season as a transfer at LSU, Skenes was taken as the top pick in the draft and only saw slight minor league work toward the end of the season. He was moved up from the rookie leagues to Single-A after one inning pitched, and after tossing three innings in two games, he got the bump up to Double-A.

The Pirates wanted to manage his workload, and he only pitched 2.2 innings. He struggled more at the Double-A level, allowing four earned runs and an ERA above 13.

Still, this move seemingly indicates some hope that Skenes will make his major league debut by the end of the 2024 season, and like Crews, he will hope to make a strong impression in spring ball.

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