Pirates phenom Paul Skenes' MLB debut had plenty of flashes of promise, along some signs that the 21-year-old still has some room to grow as he settles into the majors. With the fanfare of his debut now behind him, the journey continues with another start against the Cubs on Friday.
Skenes hit triple-digits 17 times in his first MLB start, with seven strikeouts in just four innings of work. He also battled occasional control issues that drove up his pitch count, although his final line was skewed after reliever Kyle Nicolas came in and walked in two inherited baserunners.
If Skenes is going to build on those moments of promise, he's going to need to keep using his signature "splinker" pitch. The splinker was working for Skenes in his debut, and it's undoubtedly going to be a major part of his arsenal has he tries to adjust to the big leagues.
Here are the details on Skenes' splinker, how it works and how often he throws it.
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What is a splinker?
A splinker is a hybrid between a splitter and a sinker. Skenes began to implement it into his regular arsenal in spring training, and he enjoyed so much success in the minor leagues to start the season that he didn't have much of a choice but to stick with it.
Skenes threw his splinker 21 times against the Cubs in his debut, inducing 12 swings and five whiffs.
Paul Skenes, Filthy 95mph Splinker. 😷
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 11, 2024
7th K pic.twitter.com/3qiTrR6AMi
What makes Skenes' splinker so effective? It comes the velocity of a fastball with the movement of a splitter. Skenes averaged 94.7 mph on his splinker in his debut, according to Statcast data, which is an astounding mark for a pitch with so much movement.
Statcast reveals that Skenes' splinker has about as much movement as Zack Wheeler's splitter, but it's thrown more than 9 mph harder. That makes the pitch potentially lethal, as long as Skenes can control it.
Skenes told "The Pat McAfee Show" that he laughs at the "splinker" moniker but added that, while he considers it a sinker, he understands the confusion. "You look at the metrics of it, it's not a true sinker, it's not a true splitter," Skenes said, explaining that he discovered the pitch just by throwing the ball around it.
"I laugh when people call that pitch the splinker..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 14, 2024
I found that pitch just by throwing the ball around and it stuck" ~ @Paul_Skenes #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/owIJJ3zJlG
Pirates catcher Yasmani Grandal was the first to tell manager Derek Shelton that the splinker had the potentially to be an excellent part of Skenes' arsenal, and Grandal was front and center behind the plate when Skenes debuted it against major-league hitters.
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How hard does Paul Skenes throw?
Skenes' splinker averaged 94.7 mph in his MLB debut, but his fastball is even faster. The 21-year-old averaged 100.1 mph on his fastball against the Cubs, the highest average fastball velocity of any Pirates starter since the pitch-tracking era began in 2008.
Of all pitchers who have thrown at least 100 pitches in 2024, only two average 91 mph or higher on their splitter: Angels reliever Jose Soriano (93.8 mph) and Pirates closer David Bednar (91.6 mph). Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto has the fastest average splitter at 89.9 mph, according to Statcast data, so Skenes' splinker can blow away the competition if he can even remotely sustain the velocity he flashed in his debut.
A four-seam fastball in the range of 100 mph would also be the highest among MLB starting pitchers if Skenes can sustain it. The only two active pitchers averaging more 100 mph or more on their fastball this season are Athletics closer Mason Miller and Brewers reliever Abner Uribe. The fastest average for a starter in 2024 is 98.3 mph, courtesy of injured Dodgers right-hander Bobby Miller.
Any pitcher that throws as hard as Skenes comes with natural injury concerns, but the Pirates phenom's large frame has allowed him to sustain his velocity to this point in his young career.
