Pirates Brewers Baseball

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Thursday, July 11, 2024, in Milwaukee. 

 Ap photo by Kayla Wolf

Former LSU baseball right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes is starting the MLB All-Star Game for the National League on Tuesday, it was announced Friday.

This season, Skenes has a 1.90 ERA in 66⅓ innings as a rookie for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He has struck out 89 batters and walked only 13 in 11 starts.

He will be the fifth rookie pitcher to start the All-Star Game, joining Hideo Nomo in 1995, Fernando Valenzuela in 1981, Mark Fidrych in 1976 and Dave Stenhouse in 1962.

Skenes also will be the sixth youngest All-Star Game starting pitcher in league history. Dwight Gooden (1986), Valenzuela (1981), Fidrych (1976), Vida Blue (1971) and Jerry Walker (1959) are the only pitchers who were younger than Skenes when they took the mound to start the All-Star Game.

This year's game is in Arlington, Texas. First pitch from the home of the Texas Rangers will be at 7 p.m. on Fox.

In his latest start Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers, Skenes tossed seven no-hit innings and matched a career-high in strikeouts with 11. The performance marked his eighth consecutive start with seven or more strikeouts, setting a franchise record for successive outings with seven or more.

The start also was the second time this season he had tossed a no-hit outing with 11 or more strikeouts, joining Nolan Ryan as the only pitchers in MLB history to accomplish the feat twice in the same season.

Skenes has allowed no more than three earned runs in each of his 11 starts. He's surrendered more than two earned runs in just two starts, which were his MLB debut against the Chicago Cubs and when he faced the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 5.

His 11 career games in the majors is the fewest made by a player at the time he was selected to be an All-Star. 

Last summer, Skenes was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft by the Pirates after guiding LSU to its seventh national championship in June 2023.

He posted a 1.69 ERA in 122⅔ innings during his only season with LSU. He struck out an SEC record 209 batters and won the Dick Howser Trophy.

He allowed just two earned runs in 15⅔ innings in two starts at the College World Series against Tennessee and Wake Forest. His start against Wake Forest was an eight-inning shutout that eventually resulted in a 2-0 LSU win in 11 innings that punched LSU's ticket to the College World Series final against Florida.

Skenes arrived at LSU from the transfer portal as a two-way player from Air Force. Besides pitching, he also played catcher and was an excellent hitter. He blasted 13 home runs and posted a 1.046 OPS in 182 plate appearances for the Falcons during his sophomore year.

He hit 24 home runs in two seasons at Air Force while still posting a 2.73 ERA as a sophomore in 85⅔ innings and a 2.70 ERA in 18 appearances out of the bullpen as a freshman.

Skenes attended El Toro High School in California before he attended Air Force. He was the No. 7 catcher in California from the Class of 2020, according to Perfect Game.

Email Koki Riley at [email protected].