The comet cometh.
This doesn’t happen often — that’s part of what makes comets comets — and it’ll be visible around, say, 7 p.m. Tuesday in Ƶ.
You won’t need any special glasses.
But the ump might.
The fiery fastballer Paul Skenes is coming to town. The Pittsburgh rookie pitches Tuesday at Busch Stadium against the Cardinals — thus, Skenes’ first time against this division foe he’ll likely face for years to come.
This is a big moment as he enters our baseball stratosphere.
Sure, of course, there seems to be a new, young stud every year in baseball. But this is different. This is astronomy. This is the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft — and the No. 1 pitching prospect in the game. This is the winner of the Most Outstanding Player honors in the 2023 College World Series (won by his team, Louisiana State). And albeit with a small sample size, the 22-year-old has proven that he is, indeed, elite (or at least elite-esque). He’s made five major league starts, and in 27 innings, he has 38 strikeouts — and just six walks.
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Those numbers would be astronomically impressive even if his arsenal was based on, say, off-speed stuff. But consider that Skenes throws literally the fastest fastball of any starter in baseball. And he’s done it twice already — 101.2 mph. His average fastball velocity is also the fastest of any starter (99.4 mph).
The National League doesn’t get these guys too often. I’m talking about instant pitching phenomenons. Skenes’ arrival, and I really don’t believe this is hyperbole, is similar to that of Fernando Valenzuela in 1981 or Dwight Gooden in 1984 or Kerry Wood in 1998. And really, Wood or Mark Prior come to mind specifically because those were opposing pitchers within the NL Central.
Wood, for instance, first faced the Cardinals on April 30, 1998. He was 20. That day, he pitched seven innings and struck out nine Cardinals in the win. In his next start, he struck out 20 Astros.
Since 1980, only eight NL starting pitchers have won Rookie of the Year honors. None in a decade. The Mets’ Jacob deGrom was the most recent, in 2014. The year prior, Jose Fernandez earned the honors. And then there was the Marlins’ Dontrelle Willis (2003), the Rockies’ Jason Jennings (2002), Wood (1998), the Dodgers’ Hideo Nomo (1995), the Mets’ Gooden (1984) and the Dodgers’ Valenzuela (1981).
Interestingly, none are in the Hall of Fame (though we’ll never know about Fernandez, who had a 2.58 ERA in 76 starts before his death at age 24).
And really, almost all these phenom pitchers — with apologies to Jennings — were surrounded by an aura. Fernando, for instance, had a whole mania. Gooden won the ROY award at 19 and then, in 1985 at 20, the Cy Young. Nomo was this tornado of a hurler who became an international sensation. We mentioned Wood, a Texan with Nolan Ryan vibes. Willis went 14-6 and won the World Series in his first year. And so on.
Why did none of these men make it to Cooperstown? Each has his own story, be it of flaming out or arm injuries because of flame-throwing. But it also adds to the lore of each comet — hope you saw it when you could because it doesn’t last long.
Of course, we had our own version of Skenes in Ƶ, to an extent. As a 20-year-old rookie in 2000, Rick Ankiel struck out 194 batters in 175 innings. That summer was something. You had to see him. And you couldn’t believe what you were seeing.
And then you never saw it again.
The 6-foot-6 Skenes has a fascinating backstory that only adds to his tall tale. In 2022 — yes, just two seasons ago — he was a catcher.
For Air Force.
He also started 15 games as an Air Force pitcher (2.73 ERA) that year but hit .314 with 13 home runs in just 153 at-bats.
But he transferred to LSU and left his catcher’s mitt in Colorado. For the Bayou Bengals, Skenes started 19 games. He went 13-2 with a 1.69 ERA. He pitched 122⅔ innings and struck out 209 batters.
Two-hundred and nine!
And — he only walked 20 batters.
It was one of the greatest seasons ever in college sports, something like, well, LSU’s Joe Burrow in 2019 or LSU’s Pete Maravich in 1969-70.
Now he’s in yellow and black as a Pittsburgh Pirate.
In his debut, Skenes struck out seven of the 20 batters he faced.
In his second start, he didn’t allow a hit.
Didn’t allow a hit!
He pitched six innings against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, striking out 11 and walking one before being pulled. The only hit against him was when he hit his pitch limit.
Overall, in five starts, Skenes is 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.
And he’s such an anomaly he even throws a pitch you’ve probably never heard of.
Skenes throws a splinker — which is part splitter, part sinker. It goes in the mid-90s. And per , opponents are hitting .061 against it.
So Skenes has arrived.
And he’ll arrive Tuesday on the Busch Stadium mound, where Cardinals faithful will watch this fellow with clear eyes and wide eyes.
Oh, incidentally, the Pirates are just a half-game behind the Cardinals — not only in the NL Central standings but also in the wild-card standings.
This game will be an event.
It’ll be cosmic.