Paul Skenes is a mound phenom.
When the Pittsburgh Pirates made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, he became more of a household name, but the truth is that he has been on the radar of baseball-loving people since his days in college with the LSU Tigers.
He has been around the game for a while, and was actually in attendance for a game that changed history six years ago.
“Talk about a full circle moment. After being in attendance for Shohei’s home pitching debut, Paul Skenes is set to face him 6 years later at his home stadium,” MLB tweeted.
Talk about a full circle moment. ❤️
After being in attendance for Shohei’s home pitching debut, Paul Skenes is set to face him 6 years later at his home stadium. pic.twitter.com/qUbUOlwB1q
— MLB (@MLB) June 5, 2024
Yes, that’s right: when the eyes of the world were on Shohei Ohtani’s MLB debut as a pitcher in 2018 – back when he was with the Los Angeles Angels – Skenes was there in the crowd.
Skenes, a Southern California native, was close to Angel Stadium so he went to see a pitcher that helped shape him into who he is today on the mound.
In that April 8 game, Ohtani took a perfect game to the seventh inning and showed the world what he was capable of.
Six years and two AL MVP awards after that, Ohtani is now with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Skenes, who has a 2.45 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 22 innings so far as a rookie, will be able to face him and try to get him out with his similarly filthy stuff.
Ohtani will obviously hit, but he is not expected to pitch this season due to his ongoing elbow recovery.
Will we see a Skenes – Ohtani duel on the mound at some point in 2025?
For now, we will have to settle for what could be an epic batter vs. pitcher battle.
