Skenes signs record-breaking deal with Pirates… with a fastball that tops out at 164 mph안전놀이터
Paul Skenes (Skenes-21) has become the highest-paid rookie in Major League Baseball (MLB) history. The right-hander (Louisiana State University), who was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the first overall pick in the 2023 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft last week, agreed to a $9.2 million signing bonus on Monday. That’s the most the Detroit Tigers ever paid for a first-round pick, surpassing the $8.41 million they paid Spencer Thorkelson, 24, in 2020.
Skins’ (6-foot-2, 198 pounds) primary weapon is a fastball that tops out at 102 miles per hour (164 kilometres per hour). He has thrown more than 100 mph (161 km/h) in a game 46 times. Baseball America ranks Skins’ fastball and changeup as the No. 1 fastball, No. 3 breaking ball and No. 5 changeup among college pitchers nationwide.
As a junior, Skins was named Most Outstanding Player (MOP) after leading Louisiana State to a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I championship. She started 19 games, going 13-2 with a 1.69 ERA. In 122 and two-thirds innings pitched, she had five complete games, two shutouts, and 209 strikeouts. He walked just 20 batters. He originally enrolled at the U.S. Air Force Academy out of high school before transferring this year. During his time at the Academy, he batted .314 (13 homers, 38 RBIs) in 52 games as a pitcher and catcher, but this year he stuck to pitching and will also pitch in the pros.
Skins will start his professional career in the minor leagues (Rookie League) at the Floria Complex. He is considered to be ready to play in the major leagues right away based on his skills, so he is expected to make his debut in the major leagues after moving quickly through the minors. The Pirates currently have South Korean players Choi Ji-won (32) and Bae Ji-hwan (24), while the Rookie League team has Deoksugo native Shim Jun-seok (19).