Skenes

Pirates phenom Paul Skenes got his first glimpse of what everyone in Altoona saw last season with Konnor Griffin’s short time with the Curve.

The two faced each other in a live batting practice session on Wednesday in Bradenton, Fla. to open the first day of spring training, with manager Don Kelly confirming that Skenes “got him on three fastballs” in the first at-bat.

Just like everyone saw with the Curve last season, Griffin made adjustments the second time around and hit a line drive to left field.

“Their goal is probably to see pitchers and get timing. My goal is to throw strikes and get them out,” Skenes said. “I think we both probably accomplished our goals. But it was cool to see him in the box.”

It was the first time the two ever faced each other in the informal setting in February. The question is, will he be Skenes’ teammate breaking camp, or will the Pirates send him back to the minors with more seasoning with an inevitable midseason call-up?

Whatever the answer may be, consider Skenes as part of Griffin’s believers.

“I think it’s funny that everything I see of him, and he’s 19 years old,” Skenes said. “You wouldn’t think that. He’s super mature, super professional in how he goes about his business. It doesn’t say ’19-year-old’ when you interact with him. I’m excited to see his development. I’m excited to have him help us win a lot of games in Pittsburgh.”

Skenes went through a similar process two years ago that Griffin will soon face in wondering when he will make his debut. The hype around Skenes was through the roof when he came up in May 2024, and there will always be a ton of hype when the No. 1 prospect in all of Minor League Baseball is knocking on the door of the big leagues.

It’s a conversation that hasn’t happened yet between Skenes and Griffin, but the reigning Cy Young winner assumes it will.

“He’s built for it. He just needs to be himself and play the game,” Skenes said. “It’s no different than what he did last year or when he was in high school. He’s a pro. He’ll be fine.”

Skenes also expressed excitement of seeing his good friend, Jared Jones, return to the mound. Jones had internal brace surgery in May of last year.

“We can be the best group in baseball,” Skenes said. “The only thing that’s going to get in the way of that is ourselves. It’s fun to get back to work with them.”