Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes seems to have all sorts of new tricks. Skenes is teasing that he’s been working on some secret new pitches this offseason, that no one even knows about.
“I’m never going to stop doing that,” Skenes said, per MLB.com. “Maybe I’ll throw a knuckleball 10 years from now.”
The Pirates All-Star hurler is getting ready for his second season in Major League Baseball. He’s already been named the starter for the team, in its Opening Day game March 27. That’s not a surprise for Pittsburgh considering Skenes started in last year’s All-Star game.
This offseason, Skenes has specifically talked about a new pitch he’s working on for the Pirates. Analysts say though he’s been throwing two different new ones.
He’s been throwing more off-speed stuff in spring training, and people have been analyzing those pitches.
“[It’s] not just him, but guys that have weapons like him don’t need to tinker at times,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “You can just use the elite fastball, the splinker, whatever he has. But the other part of Spring Training is the process of working on things, and there’s very few guys that have it in their back pocket where they can go get it and use one pitch at a time, and we’ve seen him be able to execute that.”
Opening Day is just around the corner, so Skenes will be able to finesse those pitches even more.
Pirates fans are counting on Skenes to have a big season
The Pirates have long struggled as a franchise. The 2024 season continued those woes, as the team finished with a 76-86 record.
Pirates fans hope Skenes can get the team back to the postseason. One man clearly can’t do everything, but his leadership can certainly help inspire the team. Skenes seems to be taking a lot of responsibility this offseason.
That responsibility includes tinkering with how he throws the baseball.
“It’s kind of amazing what you can do with a baseball if you really want to,” Skenes added.
The Pirates pitcher has worked with a sinker, and a cutter this spring. In his final start of the spring on Monday, Skenes worked heavily with the sinker.
“Just giving it another shape, I think, for hitters to respect,” Skenes said. “I think it complements my other pitches well by missing barrels.”
The Pirates play the Miami Marlins on Opening Day, which is March 27. Pirates fans are ready to see Skenes in action once again.
The post Pirates’ Paul Skenes teases learning even more pitches after adding 2 more appeared first on ClutchPoints.
