“He's gonna be a great player in this game” - Paul Seawald heaps huge praise on Paul Skenes after back-to-back strong performances
Baseball's top pitching prospect, Paul Skenes, made his highly anticipated debut against the Chicago Cubs earlier this month. Though he wasn't efficient, his stuff was exhilarating to watch.
A week later, he took the mound against the Cubs again, but this time it was in Wrigley Field. It was six scoreless innings coupled with zero hits and 11 strikeouts to leave everyone in awe of his potential. His performance has gotten the baseball world talking and heaping praise for him.
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Paul Sewald joined "The Foul Territory" podcast to discuss the hype surrounding Paul Skenes and how everyone in the majors is reacting to it.
"No, we have lots of people trying to chime in just a little bit. I think we were playing at about the exact same time when we were in Baltimore last week, so it was hard. But I mean, lots of people were just, I mean, he's going to be a great player in this game," Sewald said.
"We're all excited that his game just continuously gets better, and you know, you're a little bit skeptical of how good prospects are going to be, but you want them to be the best version they can be."
Paul Sewald brought some reality to Paul Skenes' potential in the future
The first impression coming out of Paul Skenes' performance has been well-received by the league and some are already singing praises about his future. His 100-mph bullets are definitely eye-grabbing and something the major league hitters will have to work against.
However, Sewald thinks that once all major league teams grab a hold of his pitching and find his weakness, Skenes can have some bad outings coming his way.
"Skenes will also have a couple of starts that don't go well," Sewald said. "That's just the way this game works. You know, this game is extremely difficult, whether you have 100-mile-hour fastball or an 85-mile-hour fastball. And so you just, it's hard to tell how these rookies are gonna do when they first come up.
"Now, they have plus plus stuff, that gives them, you know, a longer lease than the rest of us. But at the same time, these hitters are just so incredible. If they can find something in you, it doesn't matter how good your stuff is."
Sewald's assessment seems to be fair and with the technology teams have today, it won't be long before they get on top of him. However, if that happens, Paul Skenes will make his own adjustments to counter it. One thing is for sure: there will be some hype and expectations surrounding his start.
Skenes is scheduled to start his third big league game on Thursday against the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park.