BRADENTON, Fla. — There are times when Paul Skenes, the 22-year-old, can’t escape Paul Skenes, Major League Baseball’s Next Big Thing.
It happens randomly and without warning. The reigning National League rookie of the year ran into former NFL receiver Julian Edelman last month at the Super Bowl in New Orleans, and the three-time champion for the New England Patriots told Skenes he was a fan.
Eyebrows raised and caught maybe more than a little off guard, the pitcher was quick with his reply: “Same.”
A few days later, Skenes was minding his own business at a Florida airport after arriving for his second spring training with the Pittsburgh Pirates when he caught a glimpse of his mustachioed face staring back at him.
It wasn’t a mirror. It was one of the countless ads in the area featuring the flame-throwing right-hander who turned every one of his first 23 MLB appearances (24 if you count the 2024 All-Star Game, where he was the NL’s starter on the mound in Arlington, Texas) into appointment viewing.