When Paul Skenes pitches for the United States in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, the Pittsburgh Pirates ace will be accomplishing a long-held goal.

“It’s special,” Skenes told reporters of the opportunity on Tuesday. “Growing up watching the World Baseball Classic as a kid, I never thought I would have the opportunity to play in one. So I told myself, ‘If I did get the opportunity to do it, I couldn't pass it up.’ Here we are.”

“This is one thing as a fan of the game, watching the previous World Baseball Classics, that I was like, ‘If I ever get the chance to do this, I'm never saying no.’ So this is going to be the first one,” he added.

Skenes, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young third-place finisher, is in his first complete season in the Major Leagues. Already, he's showing the ability to stay as one of the best pitchers in the game. He indicated that he is ready to play alongside the other greats of the game and against some of the best talent in the world.

“Now it’s everybody. It’s the best of the best. There is no greater USA team to play on than this one and represent the nation on the biggest stage,” he said. “I was able to talk to [Aaron] Judge a couple of times. Just being able to share a locker room with him, it’s going to be pretty cool.”

Paul Skenes earns high praise from Pirates manager Don Kelly

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Skenes has made nine starts so far in his sophomore campaign. He has a 2.64 ERA in 54.2 innings, and even as some of his numbers have dipped from last year, he's remained on an All-Star trajectory.

He's striking out 8.7 batters per nine innings compared to 11.5 last year, while his hits allowed and walk rate have both ticked up slightly. Still, as his manager points out, Skenes has made himself one of the toughest pitchers in baseball to figure out.

“The way he can command everything, the way he can move from pitch to pitch and figure out what’s working and what’s not … he still finds ways to give you five, six, seven innings of two-, three-run ball,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said, via Bill Ladson of MLB.com. “That’s a special pitcher.”