Paul Skenes may very well be the next big thing in Major League Baseball.
The flamethrower set the college baseball world on fire a year ago when he helped lead the LSU Tigers on a dominant national title run.
Selected first-overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in last summer’s MLB Draft, Skenes was clearly ready for the Majors on day one.
Pittsburgh wanted to take it easy with Skenes, however.
They slowly moved him up through the minor leagues before finally calling him up to the Bigs earlier this month.
Since arriving with the Pirates, Skenes has flashed his dominance and has shown everyone why he may very well be Roger Clemens 2.0 (or better).
After being pulled from his six-inning no-hitter last week, Skenes followed up with another impressive performance last night.
The Pirates may have lost against the San Diego Padres, but Skenes certainly wasn’t the reason why. He pitched six innings, allowing six hits and only one run.
On the season, Skenes is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA to go along with 21 strikeouts and only four walks in 16 innings pitched.
Interestingly, Skenes recently revealed one of the secrets to his success … His pregame meal.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, Skenes admitted that he religiously follows a pregame routine which involves scarfing down a healthy portion of chicken alfredo.
“I got some crap from some of the guys before my last [start] because I just had this ginormous plate of chicken alfredo a couple of hours before I was going to pitch,” Skenes said.
“And they’re basically telling me they wouldn’t even make it out to pitch, they’d just be sitting on the toilet if they ate that before their outing. But that’s just what I do… helps me keep my energy.”
Despite the criticism from his peers, Skenes stands by his choice, emphasizing its role in maintaining his energy levels.
This need for energy isn’t unfounded, as reports suggest he burns through a staggering 5,000 calories per game.
Previous reports revealed that Skenes had a unique habit of consuming half a container of honey per game to sustain his energy levels while at LSU.
Of course, Skenes is well-known for something else as well…
His girlfriend just happens to be national champion gymnast and model/influencer Olivia Dunne.
Skenes credited Dunne with helping him deal with all of the new-found pressure he’s facing.
“It’s been great, she’s helped me in a lot of ways in terms of managing all the hype I guess, if you will, and how to manage everything that goes around being a pro athlete because she’s kinda lived it. So it’s been great,” he recently told MLB Network.
What are your thoughts on Skenes as a pitcher?
Do you think he will live up to the hype? … Is he indeed the next big thing in baseball?
What about his pregame meal? … Not too bad, huh?
What was YOUR pregame meal (or ritual) back in your playing days???