Paul Skenes is having a memorable month both on and off the field.
The Pirates’ No. 1 pick in the MLB draft in July and the recently-confirmed boyfriend of Olivia Dunne, LSU’s viral sensation, Skenes was promoted to Pittsburgh’s Double-A affiliate Altoona on Monday, the team announced.
Skenes, 21, a fireballing right-hander, confirmed he was dating Dunne, 20, in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last Friday.
The pitcher, who attended LSU and was a vital part of the school’s national championship team in June, said he met Dunne through his best friend, who is dating Elena Marenas, Dunne’s roommate and gymnastics teammate at the school.
“Just a small-world type of thing,” Skenes said about his newly-revealed relationship.
Skenes wowed fans — and clearly the Pirates brass — with his Single-A debut, in which Dunne, who was also in attendance, watched the 6-foot-6 righty throw one inning and strike out two while topping out at 100 mph.
In three outings across Single-A and the complex league, Skenes has tossed four scoreless innings with five punchouts, allowing only one hit and no walks.
The Pirates are limiting Skenes’ workload this season because of his hefty innings total with LSU last season, in which he threw 122 2/3 innings, averaging a staggering 103 pitches over his last 19 outings.
“I think as we’ve gone through the year, we knew there was going to be a progression to where he was going to go, and we’re just taking another step in the progression,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “Having just watched the starts on video, he’s done a really nice job and been very impressive, so we’ll continue to progress him as our baseball ops group feels is appropriate.”
Pittsburgh general manager Ben Cherington said the innings limit is part of a larger plan with the prized right-hander.
“We think it’s helped him be fully engaged in the work between starts and have a more normal pitcher experience even if we’re being conservative with the volume, then help him get into a normal offseason to prepare to be a starting pitcher in 2024, wherever that begins.”