Skenes’ first start on Saturday at 4:05 p.m.
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By Jarrod Prugar
For the Mirror
PITTSBURGH -- Baseball, much like life, tends to throw curveballs at unexpected moments.
For rookie phenom Paul Skenes, his most recent curveball came while he was napping.
"We had an 11 a.m. game and I had to throw a bullpen in the morning," Skenes said. "Waking up at 7 a.m. during the season is not fun so I headed over to the stadium early, got that stuff done, played the game, went home and took a nap."
He awoke to a plethora of missed calls from an unsaved number. That unsaved number? That of Indianapolis Indians manager Miguel Perez.
"I woke up to three missed calls from our manager, Miggy," Skenes recalled. "I woke up and saw the missed calls. I didn't have his number saved."
In retrospect, it's a number Skenes won't soon be forgetting.
"He texted me, 'hey, it's Miggy.' Skenes said. "And so I called him back like, 'hey, what's up?' He's like, 'are you coming to dinner?' 'Miggy nobody told me about dinner. I don't know what's going on.' He's like, 'so you're not coming to dinner?' 'No, I don't know what's going on.' He says, 'are you really gonna make me look for another pitcher on Saturday?' I'm like, 'I don't know, am I?' He says, 'yeah, you are. You're going to the show.'"
Now, Skenes is set to debut Saturday a day after his now current teammate and good friend Jared Jones toes the rubber for the Pirates.
"Yeah, I think that's the coolest part about it, at least for these first couple days for me, is pitching back-to-back with him," Skenes said. "I've played against him forever, since we were 10 or 11 years old. I've known who he is for a while. Nice to be on the same side as him, for sure."
Skenes and Jones make up two-fifths of a rotation mixed with youth and experience with Mitch Keller, Martin Perez and Bailey Falter rounding out the other spots. With Keller signing his extension over the offseason, this is a rotation that could very well be together for a long time.
Is it the beginning of a team on the cusp of making the playoffs for the first time since 2015? Skenes seems to think so.
"I would definitely say we're close. I think being around the team in spring training and watching the club over the past month or so, we're close. I think there is a lot to look forward to."
All eyes will be on Skenes Saturday afternoon when he steps on the field much like they have been since he was drafted last summer.
The attention isn't new to Skenes who led Louisiana State to a national championship last year after transferring from the Air Force Academy where he spent the first two years of his collegiate career.
"I try to look back and reflect as much as I can. It doesn't feel like a blur. Two years ago feels really long ago and really short ago at the same time, if that makes sense," Skenes said. "In some ways, it flew by. In some ways, it was really long. The biggest thing is [take it] a day at a time, and just putting the work in and stuff like this can happen. Not just for me, but anybody. A lot of blessings have come my way, not just over the past couple years, but throughout my entire career. I think this is a step in that."
Skenes takes a Major League step forward Saturday and despite the magnitude, his goal and expectation is simple.
"Just want to put us in a position to win. I don't know about specifics yet," Skenes said. "Kind of just started looking into them. Yeah, just want to execute and put us in a position to win."