Paul Skenes reveals why he’s never chased ‘elite extension’ like other aces

Having enjoyed an incredible rookie season in 2024, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes seemingly made himself a household name almost instantly after making his big league debut.

Going on to enjoy plenty of success since, much of the credit for Skenes' standout performances goes to his technique, which helps him execute a variety of pitches in high-pressure situations against some of the best players in all of baseball.

One common denominator observed in many elite big league pitchers is an elite level of extension, which essentially helps them release the baseball as close as possible to home plate. This isn't the case with Paul Skenes, however.

"I'm not thinking [about my mechanics when I'm on the mound]. I started pitching when I was five years old. My dad never coached me, it was always, 'Let your body organize itself'. ...My body has just learned to organize itself," Skenes said while speaking to Mark DeRosa and Jake Peavy on Tuesday's episode of "MLB Central".

"There are guys that have elite stuff because they have elite extension, I'm not that guy. Partly because of my stride length. My natural arm slot is a little bit lower [than most other big league pitchers]. I can't remember working on it, ever, but it just naturally lowered [during my time at LSU]. Maybe my current arm angle is just a continuation of it," he added.

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Paul Skenes shares thoughts after Pirates fire skipper Derek Shelton

Amid a poor run of results, the Pittsburgh Pirates currently sit bottom of the NL Central with a 14-29 record. In a desperate effort to stop their freefall, the Pirates' ownership decided to relieve manager Derek Shelton of his duties earlier in May.

Sharing his thoughts on the matter on Friday, Skenes told reporters via "Talkin' Baseball":

"Unfortunately, I wasn’t shocked. At the end of the day, we’re 12-26. Someone’s got to be held accountable, and unfortunately right now, it’s him. That’s just kind of how it goes, but I don’t know that it fixes the root of the issue, which is we need to play better. That’s been the messaging today, that’s been the messaging for a little bit now and we’ve still got to do that.”

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As of now, former bench coach Don Kelly has been handed over the reins of the team, who are in desperate need of a shot in the arm to get their season back on track.

About the author

Raghav Mehta is a baseball journalist at Sportskeeda awaiting results for a Bachelor's in Journalism from Delhi University. He enjoys highlighting the key battles between players at different stages of the game and analyzing the decisive moments upon which they hinge.

One of Raghav's favorite moments, which underscores this, was the Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout clash in the 2023 WBC, where two of baseball's best players faced off against each other in the 9th inning. With the score 3-2 to Japan, Shohei eventually got the strikeout, which was absolute cinema.

Raghav is a Baltimore Orioles fan and is enjoying watching such an exciting young team compete at the top in a very competitive division.

Raghav has loved watching sports for as long as he can remember and realized he was pretty decent at writing his thoughts down at around the age of 14. Combining the two meant he had something he would enjoy doing every day, and he had identified that well before going to college.

Aside from work, Raghav enjoys playing sports, working out and watching movies.

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Edited by Veer Badani