Paul Skenes\' stuff was as electric as advertised.
A fastball that reached at least 100 mph 17 times. A slider that left major leaguers shaking their heads. An invention called a \"splinker\" that is a hybrid of a splitter and a sinker and dips and dives unlike any pitch anywhere in baseball.
Yet even at age 21, the Pittsburgh Pirates rookie knows all the \"oohs\" and \"ahs\" and knee buckles a ball that at times seems to explode out of his right hand can produce won\'t matter if he can\'t control it.
So while there were some positive takeaways from his major league debut Saturday -- seven strikeouts over four-plus innings and much, much later a 10-9 victory over the Chicago Cubs -- the top overall pick in last year\'s draft understands there is more work to be done.
Via MLB.com