"Gyatt" - Olivia Dunne reacts to boyfriend Paul Skenes' impressive pitching performance in second Triple-A start
Olivia "Livvy" Dunne is perhaps the No. 1 Paul Skenes fan in the world right now. The gymnast slash influencer has been the Pittsburgh Pirates prospect's girlfriend since last year, and Dunne has certainly shown support to Skenes since.
In Skenes' second start for the Indianapolis Indians, the Pirates' Triple-A affiliate, on Friday night, the young fireballer impressed many, including his girlfriend, Livvy. His performance drew a reaction from the latter as she shared a post about it on her Instagram account.
"Gyatt," Dunne wrote in the story.
Skenes' impressive start handed the Indians an 8-3 win against St. Louis' Triple-A affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds.
Dunne and Skenes announced they were dating in August 2023 after the latter confirmed it in an interview with The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Paul Skenes shuts down the Redbirds
With the first pick in the 2023 MLB draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Paul Skenes out of LSU. Ever since then, the expectations have been sky-high for the young righty ace, who drew comparison to NY Yankees' Gerrit Cole.
The Pirates organization is taking its time with its prized prospect, having Skenes start from Triple-A before probably calling him up later this season.
In just his second start for Triple-A Indians, Skenes wasted no time and has turned heads with his scintillating performance against the Memphis Redbirds. In a three-inning start, Skenes gave up a sole hit and struck out six Redbirds batters while also tallying impressive statistics with his pitches.
"PAUL SKENES 3 IP 1 H 6 K — at 100.7 mph, 100.5 mph, 100.4 mph, 100.2 mph, 100.0 mph & 99.7 mph. 44 pitches, 13 at 100.0+ mph. 99.9 mph avg 4sm velo," a user wrote on X.
Based on gathered data, the 21-year-old hurled 13 pitches that went north of 100 miles per hour while averaging 99.9 miles per hour on all the pitches he threw.
"I was feeling good throughout," Skenes said, per IndyStar. "Ideally, the last pitch of the outing is 101 in the seventh (inning), but that's kind of the goal, a slow ramp up, but I was happy with it."
Skenes is the third-best prospect per MLB Pipeline after the Baltimore Orioles' Jackson Holliday and the Milwaukee Brewers' Jackson Chourio. He tops the charts as the best current pitching prospect. Only time will tell when the young stud will be promoted to the main roster of the Pirates.