Ivy League Cubs

By: Jacob Zanolla

On Friday morning, Paul Skenes joined an interview with Dan Patrick on the Dan Patrick Show, probably expecting to be asked the usual questions, including he thoughts on being pulled after seven no-hit innings against the Brewers on Thursday. For what it’s worth, Derick Shelton should have let him continue to pitch, but that’s a discussion for another time.

Tory Luvello called into the show, and as the manager of this years National League All-Star team, was able to tell Paul Skenes that he has been chosen as the starter for this year’s festivities. This was really cool, and a creative way to tell the rookie that he gets to pitch in Texas next week. He may have expected it, but nonetheless it’s a neat way to announce the news to the fans. Not only is it cool for him, but it’s awesome for baseball in general. Skenes has been one of the best pitchers in the sport since getting called up in May, and is a top choice to win the NL Rookie of the Year. He’s been taken out of a no-hitter in 18% of his starts, which is absolutely insane. His 1.90 ERA would lead the league if he qualified (hasn’t been up in the majors enough yet), along with many other stats. His K rate of 34.9% would also be first, beating Garrett Crochet by 0.1%.

Major League Baseball is trying to appeal to the younger generation of fans, making Skenes the perfect option to market the game of baseball. He was drafted as the first overall pick in last year’s draft, and immediately became one of the best prospects in the sport. Skenes has started 11 games so far, accumulating 2.0 fWAR and striking out 89 hitters in 66.1 innings. His K/9 of 12.08 is one of the best in baseball, and he constantly hits triple digits on the radar gun as well. He’s dating LSU gymnyst Olivia Dunne, so in a way baseball is trying to make them their “Kelce/Swift” couple for marketing reasons, which means the younger generation knows about him as well. They aren’t on that level popularity wise, but I think it’s neat to see something like that in baseball and not just football.

Skenes has had an insane last year of his life. First he won the NCAA College World Series (and World Series MVP), was drafted first overall by the Pirates, skyrocketed through the minor leagues to a callup within 10 months, leads the league in ERA, and is already the starting pitcher for the All-Star game. He’s living the dream right now, and as long as he stays healthy, has the chance to be an elite starting pitcher for many years to come.

Baseball has found a young star to market, and even though they rarely market players well, most sports fans have heard of Paul Skenes in one way or another. Having Skenes start off the game against players such as (from Jeff Passan) Gunnar Henderson, Juan Soto, and Aaron Judge is going to be absolute cinema.