The Summer Of Skenes: It's Like Fernandomania For Pittsburgh Phenom Off To Historic Rookie Start

He has upstaged his girlfriend - social media influence extraordinaire and LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne. 

He may soon upstage Caitlin Clark.

He is on his way to one of the best rookie seasons by a Major League Baseball pitcher since Fernando Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers created "Fernandomania" to the sound of Abba in 1981. 

Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes (6-0, 1.90 ERA, 0.92 WHIP) could out mania Clark, if he could just get on national television more - not counting the MLB Network.

That is expected to finally happen Tuesday when Skenes, 22, either starts or pitches in the MLB All-Star game (FOX, 8 p.m.) at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. He is already the first player in MLB history to make the All-Star game in his first season after becoming the first pick of the MLB Draft the previous year.

Pittsburgh rookie Paul Skenes fires away at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Tuesday afternoon. Skenes struck out 11 and no-hit the Brewers over seven innings for a 1-0 win to go to 6-0. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)

"A year before the draft (in 2022), I wouldn't have thought that I would be going one-one," Skenes, who transferred from Air Force to LSU after the 2022 season and won the 2023 national championship with the Tigers, said Thursday. "And then a year ago from today, I never would've thought that I would be in the All-Star game. So, kind of crazy, but taking it all in."

MADE FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY: Paul Skenes Is Truly An All-American

Skenes went to 6-0 on the season Thursday on just his two-month anniversary in MLB and threw his second partial no-hitter over his last 10 starts. He struck out 11 in seven innings while allowing just two base runners on a walk and a hit batsman as the Pirates won, 1-0, at Milwaukee. With more innings pitched, he would be the earned run average leader at 1.90 and among the leaders in WHIP (walks and hits per inning) at 0.92. With a better bullpen and run support, he could be 9-0 or maybe 11-0 as the most earned runs he has allowed through 11 starts is three only twice.

Fernando Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers was the last rookie pitcher to start the Major League Baseball All-Star game in the 1981 season. (Getty Images)

Valenzuela started off 1981 at 8-0 with a 0.50 ERA before finishing 13-7 with a 2.48 ERA and leading MLB with 180 strikeouts in a strike-torn season. He became just the third rookie in history to start the All-Star game after Detroit's Mark "The Bird" Fidrych in 1976 and Dave Stenhouse of the Washington Senators in 1962. But Valenzuela pitched late in the 1980 season for the Dodgers.

Paul Skenes Would Be Just 4th Rookie To Start All-Star Game

Skenes after just two months in the Big Leagues would be the fifth rookie in history to start the All-Star game Tuesday. He would be the first since the Dodgers' Hideo Nomo in 1995, should National League manager Torey Lovullo of the 2023 NL champion Arizona Diamondbacks pull the trigger.

"That would be cool," Skenes said Thursday after the game. "I haven't thought about it a ton. But it'll be cool."

Lovullo has to think Skenes' latest performance was pretty cool. All he did was become the second pitcher in the modern era of the Major Leagues (1901-2024) to have two starts in a season in which he allowed no hits with 11 strikeouts or more. The other? Nolan Ryan in 1973. Skenes previously no-hit the Cubs through six innings on May 17 with 11 strikeouts in just his second MLB start. 

Skenes also set an MLB record with seven or more strikeouts in nine of his first 10 rookie starts before Thursday. And his 89 strikeouts through the first 11 starts of his career is the most since Nomo had 96 for the Dodgers at that point in 1995.

After Skenes beat Milwaukee, a reporter asked Pittsburgh manager Derek Lee Shelton if he saw Skenes "taking over the league this fast, because there's supposed to be a little bit of a humbling?"

Shelton didn't hesitate after watching Skenes go through the National League Central leading Brewers (54-40) like they were a Triple-A team. 

Pittsburgh pitcher Paul Skenes has allowed two earned runs or less in nine of his 11 starts this season. (Getty Images)

"I don't think anybody thinks that when you come to the Big Leagues it's going to be like this," he said. "We're seeing a guy that's just really talented. Not much really affects him. That's the most important thing. He gave up a lead-off home run a couple starts ago (two games in a row actually), and it didn't affect him. He's given up two runs in the first - didn't affect him."

And Skenes did not have his usual sack full of 100 mph or more pitches on Thursday as usual. He used fewer fastballs and more change-ups and breaking balls, including his famed splinter - a combination of a split-finger fastball and a sinker.

"And there's going to be some rough patches he'll go through," Shelton said.

Yeah, but when?

"His ability to adjust within the game," Shelton said when asked where Skenes has developed the most. "The Brewers did a really good job with him. We had not seen anybody make him grind like that early in the game, and even without giving up hits. He got efficient, and they got aggressive because of the fact that his stuff was so good. It was almost like they changed their approach and got aggressive."

Good approach by the Brewers. Didn't work.

Paul Skenes: A Star Among All-Stars Already

The rest of MLB has been trying to change their approaches to Skenes to no avail. How will the Yankees' Aaron Judge do on Tuesday, should Skenes start and face him in the first inning? Judge leads MLB with 32 home runs and 83 RBIs.

"I want to make something clear," Pardon The Interruption guest co-host Pablo Torre said Thursday. "This guy is going to be the thing at the All-Star game happening on Tuesday."

RELATED: Paul Skenes' Girlfriend Returning To LSU Gymnastics

Well, Livvy plans on being there, too.

"Oh, I can't imagine that he's not going to start the All-Star game," regular PTI host Tony Kornheiser said. "It's one inning. I certainly want to see him pitch against Aaron Judge."

ESPN's Buster Olney said Lovullo should start Skenes. "It's just an exhibition," he said.

There are other worthy candidates. Atlanta left-hander Chris Sale is a strong consideration as he leads MLB in wins at 12-3 with a 2.74 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 105 innings with a 0.94 WHIP. But he is scheduled to start on Sunday. A 14-year veteran enjoying his first double-digit win season since 2018 with Boston, Sale is a great story. But Skenes is a hotter one.

THE SKENES EXPRESS? Pittsburgh Rookie Trains Like Nolan Ryan

"An historic start to what could be an historic career for Paul Skenes," Pirates' announcer Greg Brown said of the pitcher's first two months.

And the comparisons to Nolan Ryan, who started the 1979 All-Star game for the American League, are just hard to ignore.

"There's only two pitchers in history to have multiple outings of 11-plus strikeouts and no hits," Kornheiser said. "Only two. There's Nolan Ryan, and this kid. That's pretty rare company. Pretty rare air."

Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy sounded like he might vote for Skenes after Thursday.

"He was dynamite," he said. "Impressive all the way around - secondary pitches, heater, command, composure. I thought he was great. He was great."