MLB All-Star Starter Paul Skenes Has Lived A Lifetime In 2 Years - 'Unreal,' Dad Says

DALLAS - At this time two years ago, Paul Skenes was a relatively unknown transfer pitcher from the Air Force Academy about to enroll at LSU, which hadn't been to the College World Series since 2017.

He was known in college baseball circles, yes, but those are still at the shallow end of the sports pool. He did win the John Olerud award in 2022 at Air Force that goes to the best two-way player in the country as he hit .314 with 13 home runs and was 10-3 with a 2.73 ERA and 96 strikeouts. But his fastball averaged only 93 mph.

The 94th Major League Baseball All-Star game will be Tuesday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. (Getty Images)

It's 2024 now, and Skenes will be the first rookie to start the Major League Baseball All-Star game in more than 30 years on Tuesday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, for the National League. The right-handed Skenes (6-0, 1.90 ERA, 89 strikeouts, 66⅓ innings) of the Pittsburgh Pirates will go against Baltimore right-hander Corbin Burnes (9-4, 2.43 ERA, 110 strikeouts, 118⅔ innings) of the American League.

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Don't be surprised if Skenes' first pitch is over 100 mph. His fastball has been clocked at that or higher routinely throughout his 11 starts this season. Since he knows he will only pitch one inning at the most, look out for something in the 103 or 104 mph range to one or all three of the American League's first three batters. Those are expected to be Gunnar Henderson of Baltimore and Juan Soto and Aaron Judge of the Yankees, not necessarily in that order.  

Pittsburgh Pirates rookie pitcher Paul Skenes poses with gymnast girlfriend Olivia Dunne, whom he met while both were at LSU in 2023, after he made his Major League debut on May 11, 2024, against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. (Charles LeClaire of USA TODAY Sports)

Skenes, 22, is also the first MLB player in history to make an All-Star game one year after being the first pick of the MLB Draft. That was on July 9, 2023. Just two weeks before that, Skenes - with a fastball averaging 98 mph on the season - was named the MVP of the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, where his LSU Tigers beat Florida for the national championship. And shortly before that, Skenes and LSU All-American gymnast and social media influencer queen Olivia Dunne began dating.

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"It's hard to put into words," Skenes' dad Craig Skenes told OutKick.com over the weekend from his home in Lake Forest, California. He and his wife Karen are in Arlington to watch their son pitch Tuesday. Dunne will be there, too.

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"There's so much that has happened in such a short period of time," the elder Skenes said as his son has only been in the Majors for two months.

"You think you've processed one thing that he's done (like two seven-inning no-hitters before leaving the game on May 17 and July 11), and you move on to the next," he said. "And it's really kind of unbelievable."

Skenes is only the second MLB pitcher since 1901 to allow no hits through seven innings or more with 11 strikeouts or more twice in the same season. The other was Nolan Ryan in 1973.

"Not only to be a parent living through it, which is much different than watching his games growing up, but seeing him elevated to this. It's unreal what he's been able to get done here in the last three or four years," said Craig Skenes, who has found time around his pharmaceuticals job to catch four games this season.

"I've only made a couple," Karen Skenes added.

"We've had to go separately at times," Craig said. "Getting out there to Pittsburgh from California is sometimes a bit of a challenge."

But worth it.

"It's been an evolution each year," Craig said. "It's been pretty remarkable what he's been doing to improve his skill set along with his physicality. He's a bigger man (6-foot-6, 235 pounds) now than he was two years ago at Air Force, which comes from everything that he's done to physically develop and build his body."

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Skenes learned discipline and work ethic while at home with Craig and Karen before the Air Force, which reinforced that and perfected it. His workouts at LSU resembled those of the Ryan Express, who pitched until he was 46 in 1993.

"Each of these years, there's been improvements that he's been able to realize, and we're seeing some of the benefits on the field this season," Skenes' dad said. "And I think he does it with grace, which I think we're most proud of. I don't think we've seen a change in his personality. It's the same ole Paul, which I think we're most proud of as well."

Paul Skenes is 6-0 through 11 starts this season for the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 1.90 ERA, 89 strikeouts in 66 and a third innings and just 13 walks. (Getty Images)

Skenes tends to let his pitches do the talking, other than saying "cool" and "awesome." He added "surreal" to his repertoire after learning he would start the All-Star game on Friday's edition of the nationally syndicated Dan Patrick radio show when National League manager Torey Lovullo of the Diamondbacks called in with the news.

Always an excellent student and very well spoken, Skenes has a lot to say at times. But he is usually low-key and rarely overly excited.

"I don't think he knew at all that that was coming," Craig Skenes said of the Patrick show. "His reaction, which was kind of a lack of reaction, was typical him. There were so many elements of that interview that I thought were very much like him."

One of those was Skenes sticking around the set of Patrick's show after his segment had ended.

"Paul, are you just hanging out with us?," Patrick said.

"Yeah, guys, I didn't know if you were done with me. This is a good show to listen to," Skenes said.

"Yeah, we're done with you," Patrick said. "You went seven innings. It was time to pull you. You're done with your interview. Paul, call your mom. Call your parents."

Paul Skenes does an interview after his seven-inning no-hitter and 1-0 win at Milwaukee on July 11 at American Family Field. (Getty Images)

"Sweet. Thanks guys," he said.

"Staying on until the very end and coming back and not knowing when to disconnect. I was going, ‘Yeah, that’s him, too,'" dad said.

Amid all his son's accolades, though, Craig may have liked what happened off the diamond during the Pirates' series at Milwaukee last week as much as anything. Paul followed his dad's orders and introduced himself to Milwaukee Brewers' broadcaster legend Bob Uecker, a 90-year-old former MLB catcher known for his appearances in Miller Lite beer commercials and on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in the 1970s and '80s and the "Major League" movie of 1989.

"My dad's been telling me, ‘Just make sure you meet Bob Uecker whenever you go to Milwaukee. Got to do that,’" Paul said before pitching at Milwaukee last Thursday. Then he went out and threw a seven-inning no-hitter and got the 1-0 win.

"He's a treasure," Skenes said. "I wanted to meet him. And he's everything you would expect him to be and a little bit more. That was really cool."

And dad has it all on tape.

"I always liked Bob Uecker for sure," dad said. "And Paul knew Bob from "Major League" and the Carson videos. I just wanted to make sure if he had an opportunity to meet a piece of history that he wasn't shy about asking him to do that. I'm really glad they were able to make that happen."

Uecker, you might say, was in the front row again.

And Tuesday, Paul Skenes will be front and center.

"It is hard to believe that it happened so fast," Craig Skenes said.

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"It's surreal," Paul Skenes said. "Humbling. All the words you can use. It's really cool. At the beginning of the year, I never could have expected this. I'll probably get more excited leading up to the game. Hopefully, have a full night's sleep before."

If he's not dreaming of striking out the side like Carl Hubbell did 90 years ago in the 1934 All-Star game. After allowing the first two runners on to start the game, Hubbell fanned Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Jimmie Foxx. He struck out Al Simmons and Joe Cronin to open the second. All five hitters and Hubbell would reach the Hall of Fame.

"Oh, man, I'm guessing it's going to be Henderson, Soto and Judge," Skenes said. "Can't put one guy above the other. They're all pretty dang good players. So, I'll focus on getting them out one by one."