Pittsburgh Pirates' Paul Skenes showed some encouraging signs and some areas that need improvement in his first spring training debut.
For the first time in 2026, Paul Skenes was back on the mound of the Pittsburgh Pirates, making his Grapefruit League debut on Wednesday against the Atlanta Braves.
For it being Skenes's first time seeing live hitters in game action, there was some good and some bad in his first start of the year.
The Good: Velocity and Whiffs
Paul Skenes looked like Paul Skenes in some ways in his first game action of the season. He had some strong velocity throughout his start, and that generated some swing-and-miss, too.
Skenes topped out at 99.0 mph with his fastball, which he threw 49 percent of the time. That was slightly above his average fastball velocity in 2025, which was 98.1 mph. So, there are some encouraging signs that Skenes is getting closer to being ready to pitch for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.
With Skenes throwing as hard as he was, the righty was also missing some bats throughout his start. Opposing batters ended up whiffing at 10 of Skenes’ pitches. Five off the fastball, two off the changeup, one off the curveball, and one off the sinker.
Even though Skenes primarily threw his fastball, each of his pitches was effective, and that’s an encouraging sign.
Feb 25, 2026; North Port, Florida, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) throws a pitch in the third inning against the Atlanta Braves during spring training at CoolToday Park. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn ImagesThat Bad: Command and Walks
One of the many things that makes Skenes such an elite pitcher is that he has historically had elite command, but that was absent in his spring debut; absent for Skenes’ standard that is.
The righty threw 53 pitches, and only half of them logged as strikes, and that was with a few pitches being reversed in the Braves’ favor.
Because Skenes was struggling to locate the zone, he ended up walking four batters during his 2.1 innings of work.
The Pirates' star pitcher did admit after the game that he needed to be much closer to the zone with his pitches.
“Just gotta be tighter, basically, with everything,” said Skenes. “Obviously, you got to throw the ball in the strike zone to get them out. Challenge system or not,I didn't do a very good job of that today. But, we'll adjust.”
It’s early, very early, and there’s no reason to ring the alarm over Skens walking a few more batters than usual in his first spring training start. However, it was still a peculiar thing to see, considering how sharp Skenes has been in the past.
Pirates Roundtable also offers a fan community and message board. We’d love to have you join us to talk all things Pirates. Click the “Join” button at the top of the page to join our community for free.