The Pittsburgh Pirates did the inevitable on Wednesday as the franchise announced Paul Skenes, MLB's No. 3 prospect, is set to make his much-anticipated MLB debut on Saturday. His girlfriend, LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne, didn’t get the memo until after she rose from a midday snooze.
Dunne posted a TikTok video after the news broke of Skenes' promotion, with the caption “POV: you both wake up from a nap and find out he's in the MLB.” The video was posted by Major League Baseball's official X account Wednesday night.
The former LSU stars were romantically linked before Skenes made things public last August. Dunne has been spotted at several of Skenes' games since he was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in last year's MLB Draft.
Skenes and Dunne both enjoyed success in their respective final collegiate seasons. They were each key members of national championship squads as LSU's baseball team won the 2023 College World Series while the gymnastics team captured its first national title this April.
Paul Skenes ready for the big leagues
Despite only recording 34 innings in the minor leagues, the Pirates made the call to promote Skenes to the majors. It's an unprecedented move, but one that isn’t a surprise given what the 21-year-old has shown in his short time as a professional.
Skenes posted a 0.99 ERA across seven starts in Triple-A this season, adding 45 strikeouts compared to 17 hits in 27.1 innings of work. Most of his starts were short, though he was stretched in his last three. He tossed a six-inning shutout on April 30 which slotted between two starts that each lasted 4.1 innings.
Overall, Skenes has a 1.85 ERA in 12 minor league starts dating back to last August. The Pirates had a set plan in place to limit his innings because of his workload over his last two college seasons. He was on the mound for over 122 innings for LSU in 2023, a big jump from the 85.2 innings he pitched with Air Force in 2022.
Skenes has a five-pitch mix that should play in the MLB. His fastball consistently sits at triple-digits, though scouts are drooling over his slider, his primary secondary pitch. He also throws a changeup, curveball and a pitch coined a “splinker” which is a hybrid between a splitter and sinker.
Skenes will take the mound with the Pirates for the first time against the Chicago Cubs on Saturday in the most-anticipated MLB debut for a pitcher since Stephen Strasburg in 2010.
Pirates looking for a spark
The Pirates are not expected to reach the playoffs this season, but there's a chance they can sneak into the NL Central race with no clearcut favorite at the moment.
Pittsburgh is 17-21, five games behind the Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers who are tied for first place in the division. The Pirates begin a stretch of 10 consecutive games against divisional opponents on Friday.
The Pirates have not made the playoffs since 2015 and had one winning season since. Paul Skenes' debut is sure to bring renewed optimism to the Pittsburgh faithful. Perhaps he is the spark that this young Pirates team needs to take the next step and become a sleeper playoff contender in the National League.
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