Another first for Skenes -- an Opening Day start

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Paul Skenes took a seat in manager Derek Shelton¡¯s office Friday, and the skipper and ace pitcher started talking about the Spring Breakout game happening in Clearwater, Fla. Bubba Chandler had just wowed for two innings and Hunter Barco was looking good in relief.

With all that¡¯s happened over the past year, it¡¯s forgivable if you forgot that Skenes started the Pirates¡¯ inaugural Spring Breakout game in 2024. Ever since that game, Skenes has been at the center of the baseball world. He won National League Rookie of the Year, started an All-Star Game and finished in the top three in NL Cy Young voting.

Now later this month, he¡¯ll get another feather in his cap. After Shelton and Skenes talked about the Spring Breakout game, Shelton shared the news that he originally called his big right-hander for: He was going to be the Pirates¡¯ Opening Day starter.

¡°Well, he¡¯s really good,¡± Shelton said with a chuckle about why Skenes was his choice. ¡°I think he deserves it from what he did last year, the way he¡¯s performed. I think we have a really good rotation with some other guys who can do it. Mitch [Keller] has done it in the past and has done a really good job. Just felt like Paul was the best choice."

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The 22-year-old ace went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA and 170 strikeouts last season despite not getting promoted to the Majors until mid-May. Now, he will be firmly established as the head of the Pirates¡¯ rotation.

The Pirates will take on the Marlins at loanDepot park on March 27, their second straight season starting the year in Miami. The Marlins will counter with Sandy Alcantara in a matchup of the 2022 Cy Young winner versus a preseason favorite to win the '25 Cy Young.

Skenes will also be making a bit of history with this start. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he will be the youngest Opening Day starter in team history since at least 1900 (he will be 22 years, 302 days old the date of the game). The last pitcher to make an Opening Day start who was younger than that was Jos¨¦ Fern¨¢ndez, who was 21 years and 243 days old when he started for the Marlins in 2014.

¡°Just being in the same conversation as those guys is pretty cool,¡± Skenes said. ¡°Get to do it in Miami, like Jos¨¦ did. Just ready to go.¡±

An Opening Day nod is just another example of Skenes¡¯ meteoric rise as a pro. It was just over a year ago that he got the news that he wasn¡¯t going to make the Opening Day roster.

A lot has changed since then, but Skenes has had the same mindset throughout.

¡°It¡¯s just baseball,¡± Skenes said. ¡°That¡¯s what people need to understand, I think. It¡¯s just, go out there and pitch, go out there and play, because the game doesn¡¯t change.¡±

Don¡¯t be mistaken, this is something that Skenes was striving for in his first season as a Major League player. Now the question becomes what the encore performance has in store.

¡°It was a goal, for sure,¡± Skenes said about the honor. ¡°Cool thing to put on the record, but it doesn¡¯t mean anything if we don¡¯t go out there and win, so I¡¯ve got to go out there and pitch well.¡±