Paul Skenes joins list of rookies, youngest pitchers to start MLB All-Star Game

Tuesday will mark exactly 364 days since the Pirates introduced No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes. Not many could have predicted where he would be nearly a year later.

Sure, Skenes came with sky-high expectations, as with any No. 1 pick. He put together a dominant season at LSU in 2023, culminating in a national championship.

Still, going from the college ranks to the MLB All-Star Game starting lineup in a year is astounding.

Even Stephen Strasburg didn't reach the majors as quickly as Skenes did when he entered the league with massive expectations in 2010. Skenes worked his way to the Pirates in just 10 months, quickly enough to make himself not just the NL Rookie of the Year frontrunner but potentially a Cy Young candidate in his debut season.

Just as Shohei Ohtani stole the spotlight at the All-Star Game during his first MVP season in 2021, this year's game will be the Skenes show for at least the first inning.

Your NL #AllStarGame starting pitcher: Paul Skenes ⭐

As announced on the @DPShow, the @Pirates rookie gets the nod in his first All-Star Game! pic.twitter.com/M9QFgH5s1O

— MLB (@MLB) July 12, 2024

Here's a look at where Skenes slots in among the youngest pitchers to start in an MLB All-Star Game.

MORE: Paul Skenes' stellar season continues with hitless outing vs. Brewers

Youngest pitchers to start MLB All-Star Game

Skenes is the sixth-youngest pitcher in MLB history to start the All-Star Game and the youngest since Dwight Gooden in 1986.

Five pitchers have started the All-Star Game at age 21 or younger, with Jerry Walker (1959) holding the record at just 20 years old. Fernando Valenzuela (1981) is the only other 20-year-old to start the All-Star Game. 

Skenes, 22, finds himself right in the middle of a list that includes MVPs, Cy Young Award winners and even a pair of Hall of Famers. That's remarkable company for a pitcher who didn't even start the season in the major leagues.

Rookies to start MLB All-Star Game

Skenes joins an even more exclusive club of rookies to start the All-Star Game, as he will only be the fifth to ever do so.

Skenes will be the first rookie to start the All-Star Game since Hideo Nomo in 1995. Nomo, however, was 26 at the time. Skenes just turned 22 at the end of May and was drafted just a year ago.