This story was excerpted from Alex Stumpf’s Pirates Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

CHICAGO -- While most of the baseball world was in awe of Paul Skenes’ Major League debut last Saturday, Yasmani Grandal had seen him pitch better when he was on his rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis. Sure, seven strikeouts and 17 triple-digit fastballs was eye-opening, but he felt the rookie

Just two starts into his MLB career, Pirates phenom Paul Skenes is already making history. Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 Draft and MLB Pipeline’s current No. 2 overall prospect, was electric Friday afternoon against the Cubs at Wrigley Field in his second career start. The flamethrowing

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You can follow your favorite players and teams on MLB.TV for just HALF the price. During the MLB.TV May Limited Time Only Sale, the All Teams Yearly package, allowing subscribers to stream every out-of-market game live or on demand, is available for just $69.99, while the Single Team package will

CHICAGO -- Jared Jones didn’t catch much of what Yasmani Grandal was telling him in the sixth inning at Wrigley Field on Thursday night. His fastball wasn’t playing like it normally was, so he was leaning heavily on his slider. The veteran catcher didn’t like how the pitch was looking

Armed Forces Weekend has a particularly special meaning for Pirates phenom Paul Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft and MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 overall prospect. Before deciding to follow his baseball dreams at LSU, Skenes was on a path toward a military career, attending the

If Paul Skenes' big league debut last weekend was any indication -- the seven strikeouts in four innings, the triple-digit heat, the wipeout secondary pitches -- there are some dominant games in the tank for baseball's top pitching prospect. The Pirates' 21-year-old right-hander makes start No. 2 on Friday at

Paul Skenes' Major League debut, which came less than a year after he was selected first overall by the Pirates in the 2023 Draft, showcased why he is the top pitching prospect in baseball. The right-hander used his triple-digit fastball, mid-80s slider and electric splinker to strike out seven Cubs

With the 2024 Draft still two months away, there's not much hard intel on who's going where in the first round. That picture will become clearer as college and high school players start wrapping up their seasons in the next few weeks, and teams conduct interviews and get medical information

The Angels have made a change in their bullpen, acquiring right-hander Roansy Contreras from the Pirates for cash considerations. Contreras appeared in 12 games for Pittsburgh this season, allowing eight earned runs and eight walks over 16 1/3 innings while striking out 16. He will fill the spot on the

MILWAUKEE – It’s a start Martín Pérez would just as soon forget. The veteran lefty took the mound against the Brewers at American Family Field Wednesday afternoon having pitched effectively away from PNC Park this season. In four prior road starts, Pérez had given up just six runs in 22

This story was excerpted from Alex Stumpf’s Pirates Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Six weeks into the Minor League season, we have witnessed plenty of pleasant prospect developments. Athletics 2023 first-rounder Jacob Wilson is batting a sizzling .438 and already has reached Triple-A. Mets right-hander Jonah Tong has been a revelation with elite fastball characteristics and a Minors-best 0.33 ERA. As one Chourio

MILWAUKEE – Pirates right-hander Quinn Priester got some run support for the first time while on the mound in any of his starts this season, but an otherwise stellar outing on Tuesday night was undone by a rough second inning in which he was tagged for six hits and four

MILWAUKEE -- Bryan Reynolds’ career night at the plate breathed much-needed life into a scuffling Pirates offense on Monday night against the Brewers in Milwaukee. Reynolds went 5-for-5 with a homer, two doubles and a pair of singles to lead the Pirates past the Brewers, 8-6. The first career five-hit

PITTSBURGH -- A year ago, the Pirates and Cubs were both 73-76 in games they did not play against one another. The difference in their two seasons, in which the Pirates finished 10 games under .500 and the Cubs nearly made the postseason, was head-to-head play, where the Cubs won

PITTSBURGH -- When rehabbing with Triple-A Indianapolis last month, Yasmani Grandal got a chance to catch Paul Skenes and see his stuff first-hand. Much has been written about the right-handed phenom’s triple-digit fastball and wipeout slider, the two pitches he rode to the heights of the College World Series with

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The Statcast era of baseball research has reached another milestone: bat speed is live on Baseball Savant. You can check out this page for more thorough details on what bat speed entails and how it’s calculated. But in the meantime, we’re kicking things off by breaking down the best of

PITTSBURGH -- As if it were scripted, the rain clouds parted and the sun snuck through to the North Shore of Pittsburgh as Paul Skenes walked out of the dugout to go to his pregame bullpen Saturday. The fans who were already seated 40 minutes before first pitch gave him

Break out the caps and gowns. It’s time for a whole bunch of graduations and an updated Top 100 Prospects list. Young players who began the 2024 season on a Major League Opening Day roster with zero MLB service time exhausted their prospect status Sunday by way of the 45-day

A little over 10 months removed from being selected first overall in the 2023 MLB Draft, flamethrowing right-hander Paul Skenes made his highly anticipated MLB debut, striking out seven across four-plus innings in the Pirates' 10-9 win over the Cubs on Saturday at PNC Park.

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