The Pirates Paul Skenes team is locked out for the rest of the 2023 season

MLB

by Dylan Svoboda

The 2023 season is over for Paul Skenes.

The Pirates placed Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft, on the development list on Tuesday and announced he would not play again this season.

“We are excited and encouraged by the positive things Paul has been able to achieve during his short time at the Pirates,” said a statement from managing director Ben Cherrington.

“He has checked all the boxes we wanted him to check during the 2023 season.”

Skenes finished his first minor league season after pitching 6 innings with 10 strikeouts across three different pitches.

In his final start, the right-hander gave up four earned runs in 2/3 of an inning with Double-A Altoona.

LSU’s product comes from a historic college baseball season in which he helped lead the Tigers to a College World Series title by posting a 1.69 ERA with 209 strikeouts over 122 innings pitched.

In nearly 130 runs a year, the Pirates finally decided to shut down the 21-year-old Flamethrower.

“Since we signed him, we’ve talked about working backwards from April 2024 and designing this in preparation for that,” Chirrington told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette after the announcement.

“That’s just part of that, which puts him in the best possible position to go into his off-season training and be in a position to have a good, full season in 2024.

“We’re looking forward to diving into the offseason with him and watching him play a lot in the years to come.”

The Pirates signed Skenes for a record-breaking $9.2 million bonus, breaking the record previously held by Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson.

Skenes is already the best prospect in baseball, according to MLB.com.

Last month, Skenes revealed that he was dating social media sensation and LSU gymnast Olivia Dunn.

“It sure is nice,” Skenes told the Post-Gazette in August. “It can be a pain sometimes, to be honest, in terms of actually going somewhere. If one of us goes out in Baton Rouge[LA]alone, chances are someone will ask for something — a picture, an autograph, or any thing else.

“It’s nice to be able to have this conversation. I get it. I hope you come to the baseball game and enjoy it. It bothers me. I have no control over that. She really doesn’t either. I’m sure things will get better as I go up to levels, but that’s something I want for her.

Dunne, who is currently the highest-earning female athlete in the NCAA and has over 12 million followers on TikTok and Instagram combined, has been spotted at several Skenes minor league games.