Paul David Skenes (, born May 29, 2002) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024. Skenes played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Air Force Falcons The Air Force Falcons are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the United States Air Force Academy, located in El Paso County, Colorado north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. Th ...

and

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers (also known as the Fighting Tigers) are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiat ...

. Skenes was born and raised in

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

, where he attended

El Toro High School El Toro High School is a public high school in Lake Forest, California, United States. It is one of five high schools in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District (SVUSD) and serves Lake Forest as well as its district of Portola Hills and a ...

and played three seasons of varsity baseball. Skenes initially attended the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...

and won the

John Olerud Award The John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award (known colloquially as the John Olerud Award) is a college baseball award given to the best two-way player#Baseball, two-way player of the season. The award is named after former Washington State ...

, given annually to the best

two-way player In sports that require a player to play on offense and defense (such as basketball and ice hockey), a two-way player refers to a player who excels at both. In sports where a player typically specializes on offense or defense (like American footb ...

in college baseball, in 2022. Ahead of his junior season, Skenes transferred to LSU, where he won

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

and national pitcher of the year honors as well as the

Dick Howser Trophy The Dick Howser Trophy is bestowed annually to the national college baseball player of the year. The award is named after former collegiate and Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager Dick Howser, who died as the result of brain cancer on ...

. Skenes was part of the LSU pitching staff during the team's

2023 Men's College World Series The 2023 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was the 76th edition of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. The 64-team tournament began on Friday, June 2, as part of the 2023 NCAA Division I baseball season and ended with the 2023 Men's Co ...

championship win and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Skenes entered the

2023 MLB draft The 2023 Major League Baseball draft took place on July 9–11, 2023, in Seattle. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. For the first time, a draft lottery was used to set a portion of the draft order. The first six selections ...

as one of its most anticipated prospects and considered by some as the best pitching prospect since

Stephen Strasburg Stephen James Strasburg (; born July 20, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who spent his entire 13-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Washington Nationals. He is a three-time Major League Baseball All-Star G ...

. Skenes was selected first overall by the Pirates and signed to a $9.2 million bonus. After working through the Pirates’ farm system in just one season, he made his MLB debut in May 2024 and was named the starting pitcher for the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

in the 2024 All-Star Game, becoming only the fifth rookie in MLB history to do so. Skenes was named to his second All-Star Game in 2025.

Early life

Paul David Skenes was born on May 29, 2002, in

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and S ...

, to Craig, a

pharmaceuticals Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...

company employee, and Karen, a

homemaker Homemaking is mainly an American English, American and Canadian English, Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational ...

and former high school teacher. Two of Skenes' uncles served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

while another served in the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

. Skenes grew up in

Lake Forest, California Lake Forest is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The population was 85,858 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Lake Forest incorporated as a city on December 20, 1991. Prior to incorporation, the community had be ...

, and attended

, the alma mater of major leaguers

Nolan Arenado Nolan James Arenado (; born April 16, 1991) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Arenado is widely recognized as one of the best defensive third basemen of all time. He is ...

and

Matt Chapman Matthew James Chapman (born April 28, 1993) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays. Chapman ...

, among others. Skenes played three years of varsity baseball as a

—he played

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, and

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

in addition to pitching. In September 2018, during his junior year, Skenes announced his commitment to attend the

and play

for the

. In his junior season, he posted a 0.67

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA). He was voted to the

all-star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

teams for the Coast View Athletic Association, Orange County, the

CIF Southern Section The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CI ...

, and the state of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. During his senior year, Skenes was named team captain and had a 0.33 ERA, and hit three home runs before the remainder of the season was abruptly canceled in response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He was named to the all-county first team following the season. Skenes graduated from El Toro in 2020 with a

grade point average Grading in education is the application of standardized Measurement, measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentage ...

of 4.76.

College career

Skenes honored his commitment to play

for the

and accepted an appointment as part of the class of 2024. In his first season at Air Force, Skenes was named the

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

Freshman of the Year and a first-team All-American by the ''

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper ''Collegiate Baseball Newspaper'' (also known as ''Collegiate Baseball Magazine'' and ''Collegiate Baseball'') was an American publication based in Arizona that considered itself the "voice of amateur baseball" and was published for over 40 yea ...

'', ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

'', and the NCBWA. In 2021, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Wareham Gatemen The Wareham Gatemen are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Wareham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Gatemen play their home games at Clem Spillane Fie ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

. In 2022, Skenes won the

as the nation's best two-way player. After his sophomore season, Skenes entered the NCAA transfer portal. On July 28, 2022, Skenes announced that he would transfer to

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

(LSU) to play for the

. On June 22, 2023, Skenes broke

Ben McDonald Larry Benard "Ben" McDonald (born November 24, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. The first overall pick in the 1989 MLB Draft, he played for the Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers from 1989 through 1997. Bas ...

's SEC and LSU record for strikeouts in a single season, recording his 203rd strikeout of the year. Following the 2023 season, Skenes won the

National Pitcher of the Year Award The National Pitcher of the Year Award is a college baseball award given to the best pitcher of the college baseball season by the College Baseball Foundation. The current holder of the award iJake Knappof the North Carolina Tarheels Winners ...

and the

. LSU won the 2023 College World Series and Skenes was named the

College World Series Most Outstanding Player The Men's College World Series Most Outstanding Player is an award for the best individual performance during the NCAA Division I Men's College World Series (MCWS) in Omaha, Nebraska. The recipient of the award is announced at the completion of ...

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

The

selected Skenes with the first overall selection of the

2023 Major League Baseball draft The 2023 Major League Baseball draft took place on July 9–11, 2023, in Seattle. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. For the first time, a draft lottery was used to set a portion of the draft order. The first six selections ...

. He and Dylan Crews became the first college teammates in MLB draft history to be selected with the first two overall picks. Skenes was the second player in LSU history to be selected first overall in the draft, joining

. He signed with the Pirates on July 18, 2023, for a $9.2 million signing bonus, the highest ever for a drafted player. Skenes debuted on

MLB.com MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports colum ...

's ''MLB Pipeline'' list as the third-ranked prospect league-wide and the top-ranked pitcher. On August 7, Skenes was assigned to the

rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

Florida Complex League Pirates with the expectation of limited innings due to his high usage at LSU the prior spring. He made his professional debut on August 10 and pitched a one-two-three inning against the FCL Twins; all but one of his pitches were clocked at or higher and he struck out fellow top draft pick Walker Jenkins. Five days later, August 15, Skenes was assigned to the

Single-A Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams cl ...

Bradenton Marauders The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as the ...

. Just six days after that he was again promoted, to the Double-A

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of ...

. Skenes began the 2024 season with the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

. He pitched to a 0.99 ERA with 45 strikeouts over innings.

Pittsburgh Pirates (2024–present)

On May 11, 2024, the Pirates selected Skenes' contract and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time. In his MLB debut at

PNC Park PNC Park is a baseball stadium on the North Shore (Pittsburgh), North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth location to serve as the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates. Opened during the 2001 Major League Baseb ...

against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

that day, Skenes threw 17 fastballs at or higher and struck out seven, but surrendered three earned runs in four innings in a

no decision A no decision (sometimes written no-decision) is one of either of two sports statistics scenarios; one in baseball and softball, and the other in boxing and related combat sports. Baseball and softball A starting pitcher who leaves a game withou ...

. In his second start, against the Cubs at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

on May 17, Skenes threw six innings without allowing a hit, striking out eleven batters (including the first seven batters he faced). On July 7, 2024, he was selected to the

2024 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 2024 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, presented by Mastercard, was the 94th All-Star Game of Major League Baseball (MLB). The game was played between the American League (AL) and the National League (NL) on July 16, 2024. The game was ho ...

, becoming the first No. 1 draft pick to do so as a rookie. On July 11, National League team manager

Torey Lovullo Salvatore Anthony "Torey" Lovullo ( ; born July 25, 1965) is an American former professional baseball infielder and coach (baseball), coach who is the current manager (baseball), manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

named Skenes the starting pitcher for the National League for the game, becoming the fifth rookie ever to receive the selection. Skenes threw a scoreless inning in the All-Star game, walking

Juan Soto Juan José Soto Pacheco (born October 25, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals, San Diego Padres, and New York Y ...

but subsequently retiring

Aaron Judge Aaron James Judge (born April 26, 1992) is an American professional baseball right fielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is a six-time MLB All-Star and two-time American League (AL) Most Valuable Player Award (MVP ...

with a groundout. On September 9 against the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

, Skenes struck out Connor Norby in the top of the first inning to record his 143rd strikeout, the new Pittsburgh Pirates franchise record for strikeouts in a single season by a rookie. Skenes ended his rookie season with a 1.96 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 170 strikeouts, 32 walks, and an 11–3 record in 23 starts. After the season, Skenes was named

NL Rookie of the Year In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...

and finished third for the

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball ( ...

losing to

Chris Sale Christopher Allen Sale (born March 30, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox. He throws left-handed ...

of the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

. On March 27, 2025, Skenes was the Opening Day starting pitcher for the 2025 Pirates. Facing the

LoanDepot Park LoanDepot Park (officially stylized as loanDepot park, and named Marlins Park until 2021) is a retractable roof stadium located in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins. It is located on on ...

, he pitched five innings, giving up two hits and walking two while striking out seven. However, the Marlins scored three runs in the last two innings off of Pittsburgh's bullpen, defeating the Pirates, 5–4, and leaving Skenes with a

. On April 2, 2025, he got his first win of the season against

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

, pitched seven innings, giving up three hits, and striking out six batters in a 4–2 win. On April 26, 2025, Skenes hurled 6 scoreless innings and recorded a season-high with nine strikeouts in the Pirates’ 3–0 win against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. On July 6, Skenes was named to the 2025 All-Star Game roster, his second consecutive NL All-Star selection. On July 12, National League team manager Dave Roberts named Skenes the starting pitcher for the National League for the game, his second consecutive year to receive the selection.

Personal life

Skenes is in a relationship with former LSU gymnast and social media influencer

Livvy Dunne Olivia Paige Dunne (born October 1, 2002) is an American influencer and former artistic gymnast. She is also a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and former member of the LSU Tigers women's gymnastics team. In 2017, she was named as a member of t ...

. He said in an interview that they started dating after his best friend at LSU dated Dunne's roommate

Elena Arenas Elena Arenas (born August 31, 2001) is an American artistic gymnast. She qualified to Junior International Elite in 2014 and competed during the 2014 and 2015 Elite seasons. She is currently a senior on the Louisiana State University women's gym ...

. On January 28, 2025, Skenes was named as one of the three cover athletes of ''

MLB The Show 25 ''MLB The Show 25'' is a 2025 baseball video game developed by San Diego Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment that was released on March 18, 2025. The twentieth installment in the '' MLB: The Show'' series, the game released for ...

'' alongside

Elly De La Cruz Elly Antonio De La Cruz (born January 11, 2002) is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He signed with the Reds as an international free agent in 2018 and made his MLB debut in 2023. ...

and

Gunnar Henderson Gunnar Randal Henderson (born June 29, 2001) is an American professional baseball shortstop and third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022 and won the American League Rookie of the Yea ...

, making him the first non two-way pitcher to be featured on a ''MLB The Show'' cover.

References

External links

Air Force Falcons bioLSU Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skenes, Paul 2002 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen Air Force Falcons baseball players All-American college baseball players Altoona Curve players Baseball catchers Baseball players from Fullerton, California Bradenton Marauders players College World Series Most Outstanding Player Award winners El Toro High School alumni Florida Complex League Pirates players Indianapolis Indians players LSU Tigers baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers National League All-Stars Pittsburgh Pirates players Wareham Gatemen players