Skenes focused on efficiency, not losing 'identity'
As Paul Skenes walked to the mound of Honus Wagner Field at Pirate City, fans in attendance flocked to the fence and fought for spots to catch a glimpse of the National League Rookie of the Year throw his first live bullpen of the spring.
Cameras clicked and Joey Bart's glove popped over the next 15 minutes as Skenes threw 25 pitches and put on a show for those in attendance.
“It felt good. It was my first one, one of those things where you just gotta get it out of the way a little bit. But it felt good," Skenes said.
Spring training is different this time around for Skenes, who finished third in the NL Cy Young award race after starting 2024 in the minor leagues. He's had a quicker ramp up and is familiar with the players in the clubhouse and the organization. There's no "new kid at school" feeling anymore. Now, is the time to refine his pitch arsenal and build on the foundation that he created a year ago.
It starts with his efficiency. Skenes is focused on getting ahead of hitters and winning 0-0, 0-1, 1-1 counts, something that contributed to building up his pitch count at times a year ago.
"That stuff starts now. Frankly, it started today," Skenes said. "I wasn’t very good at it today, but I think it’s both. I think it’s a mindset thing, and you gotta figure out how to do it with your body, within that mindset. I think it’s something that hopefully I’ll know how to do, better than I know how to explain.”
Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin said Skenes compared his process stats -- strike percentage, 1-1 percentage and 0-0 percentage -- to those of Tarik Skubal and Chris Sale, the two Cy Young award winners from a season ago. That's been a focus within the group, but Skenes has taken it to another level as far as how he wants to improve.
"He really wants to master that," Marin said. "He feels that by doing that the efficiency of what he wants is going to be there."
Skenes had a first-pitch strike percentage of 61.9% last season while Skubal was at 68.7% and Sale was at 66.1%. Skubal held an overall strike percentage of 69% while Sale sat at 67% and Skenes sat at 66%, according to FanGraphs. Skenes still feels he can improve those numbers but he's not going to change who he is as a pitcher.
Among major league pitchers who threw at least 130 innings last season, Skenes had the second-highest strikeout percentage (33.1%), trailing only Garrett Crochet (35.1%). Sale and Skubal were in the top five at 32.1% and 30.3%, respectively. So, despite trying to be more efficient, Skenes doesn't think his strikeout numbers will decline.
"That’s gonna be my identity. I’m definitely not going to try to strike out fewer people, but just with my stuff, presence and that kinda thing, I’m going to get my strikeouts," Skenes said. "It’s just a matter of limiting the 1-0, 2-0 counts, that kinda thing. That’s more of how I’m thinking about it.”
Skenes has been working on two new pitches, a cutter and a running two seamer to "create more swing decisions." Marin said Skenes threw a slider two different ways last season, one was more of a sweeper, with the other being a true slider. With the cutter, Marin said it's a matter of Skenes having a "pitch to be able to consistently get one shape with and be able to be a strike-able pitch, to be more efficient."
Skenes utilized six different pitches a year ago and leaned heavily on the fastball (39.2%) and "splinker" (28.45), compared to his four other pitches -- curveball, sweeper, slider, changeup -- which he used less than 11% of the time, according to Baseball Savant. Having that mix of pitches just adds to the arsenal and gives him the ability to attack both left and right handed batters in different ways.
While a cutter runs away from a right-handed hitter, a running two-seamer would move horizontally toward the hitter, and vice-versa for the other side of the plate.
"Anything that looks like a fastball and doesn’t end up being a fastball, I think we all know how special his fastballs are, it’s just something that is going to really open up the zone for him," Marin said.
In his first season, Skenes was brought along slow and was limited on how much he could throw toward the end. He said today that while he was "frustrated" with the process at the beginning of 2024, he was happy with how it turned out, in hindsight. He threw 133 innings, recorded a 1.96 ERA and struck out 170 batters while proving himself as one of the best pitchers in the game.
The build up to his second season has been different, but the goal has been the same. Skenes created a plan in August with coaches and people around him and he's gotten off to a good start through four days of spring training.
"My body feels really good. The whole, ‘best shape of my life thing,’ I don’t know about that, but I’m in good shape, I feel good," Skenes said. "I’m ready for a large volume and large workload this year. I worked on some stuff during the offseason, honed in on some stuff from last year. I feel like we’re really in a good spot.”
As far as starting on Opening Day at LoanDepot Park in Miami, it's something he's definitely shooting for, but knows he has to produce.
"That would be an honor. It would be really cool. I’ve got to pitch well, though," Skenes said.
Here's Skenes' full media availability from today:
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THE ASYLUM
Greg Macafee
8:24 pm - 02.15.2025Bradenton, Fla.Skenes focused on efficiency, not losing 'identity'
As Paul Skenes walked to the mound of Honus Wagner Field at Pirate City, fans in attendance flocked to the fence and fought for spots to catch a glimpse of the National League Rookie of the Year throw his first live bullpen of the spring.
Cameras clicked and Joey Bart's glove popped over the next 15 minutes as Skenes threw 25 pitches and put on a show for those in attendance.
“It felt good. It was my first one, one of those things where you just gotta get it out of the way a little bit. But it felt good," Skenes said.
Spring training is different this time around for Skenes, who finished third in the NL Cy Young award race after starting 2024 in the minor leagues. He's had a quicker ramp up and is familiar with the players in the clubhouse and the organization. There's no "new kid at school" feeling anymore. Now, is the time to refine his pitch arsenal and build on the foundation that he created a year ago.
It starts with his efficiency. Skenes is focused on getting ahead of hitters and winning 0-0, 0-1, 1-1 counts, something that contributed to building up his pitch count at times a year ago.
"That stuff starts now. Frankly, it started today," Skenes said. "I wasn’t very good at it today, but I think it’s both. I think it’s a mindset thing, and you gotta figure out how to do it with your body, within that mindset. I think it’s something that hopefully I’ll know how to do, better than I know how to explain.”
Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin said Skenes compared his process stats -- strike percentage, 1-1 percentage and 0-0 percentage -- to those of Tarik Skubal and Chris Sale, the two Cy Young award winners from a season ago. That's been a focus within the group, but Skenes has taken it to another level as far as how he wants to improve.
"He really wants to master that," Marin said. "He feels that by doing that the efficiency of what he wants is going to be there."
Skenes had a first-pitch strike percentage of 61.9% last season while Skubal was at 68.7% and Sale was at 66.1%. Skubal held an overall strike percentage of 69% while Sale sat at 67% and Skenes sat at 66%, according to FanGraphs. Skenes still feels he can improve those numbers but he's not going to change who he is as a pitcher.
Among major league pitchers who threw at least 130 innings last season, Skenes had the second-highest strikeout percentage (33.1%), trailing only Garrett Crochet (35.1%). Sale and Skubal were in the top five at 32.1% and 30.3%, respectively. So, despite trying to be more efficient, Skenes doesn't think his strikeout numbers will decline.
"That’s gonna be my identity. I’m definitely not going to try to strike out fewer people, but just with my stuff, presence and that kinda thing, I’m going to get my strikeouts," Skenes said. "It’s just a matter of limiting the 1-0, 2-0 counts, that kinda thing. That’s more of how I’m thinking about it.”
Skenes has been working on two new pitches, a cutter and a running two seamer to "create more swing decisions." Marin said Skenes threw a slider two different ways last season, one was more of a sweeper, with the other being a true slider. With the cutter, Marin said it's a matter of Skenes having a "pitch to be able to consistently get one shape with and be able to be a strike-able pitch, to be more efficient."
Skenes utilized six different pitches a year ago and leaned heavily on the fastball (39.2%) and "splinker" (28.45), compared to his four other pitches -- curveball, sweeper, slider, changeup -- which he used less than 11% of the time, according to Baseball Savant. Having that mix of pitches just adds to the arsenal and gives him the ability to attack both left and right handed batters in different ways.
While a cutter runs away from a right-handed hitter, a running two-seamer would move horizontally toward the hitter, and vice-versa for the other side of the plate.
"Anything that looks like a fastball and doesn’t end up being a fastball, I think we all know how special his fastballs are, it’s just something that is going to really open up the zone for him," Marin said.
In his first season, Skenes was brought along slow and was limited on how much he could throw toward the end. He said today that while he was "frustrated" with the process at the beginning of 2024, he was happy with how it turned out, in hindsight. He threw 133 innings, recorded a 1.96 ERA and struck out 170 batters while proving himself as one of the best pitchers in the game.
The build up to his second season has been different, but the goal has been the same. Skenes created a plan in August with coaches and people around him and he's gotten off to a good start through four days of spring training.
"My body feels really good. The whole, ‘best shape of my life thing,’ I don’t know about that, but I’m in good shape, I feel good," Skenes said. "I’m ready for a large volume and large workload this year. I worked on some stuff during the offseason, honed in on some stuff from last year. I feel like we’re really in a good spot.”
As far as starting on Opening Day at LoanDepot Park in Miami, it's something he's definitely shooting for, but knows he has to produce.
"That would be an honor. It would be really cool. I’ve got to pitch well, though," Skenes said.
Here's Skenes' full media availability from today:
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