Pirates' top prospect Paul Skenes, No. 10 in MLB, will begin 2024 season in minors

Skenes was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft last June and reached Double-A last year

Right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes was the No.1 pick in the MLB draft last July and it's entirely possible we'll see him in The Show this year. It just won't be at the start of the regular season. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Tuesday that Skenes will not make the Opening Day roster, per MLB.com. 

Even if this is notable, it's not a total shock. Skenes is immensely talented, but he only got 6 2/3 innings of professional work after the draft last year. He struck out 10, but he also gave up four runs on four hits with two walks in his 2 2/3 innings in Double-A, which was the highest level he reached. Giving a little seasoning in Double-A or Triple-A for the 21-year-old prodigy won't be the worst thing for his development. 

Skenes was selected out of LSU last summer. In 19 starts as a junior, he was 13-2 with a 1.69 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 209 strikeouts against 20 walks in 122 2/3 innings. Those are insane numbers and it came in the mighty SEC. LSU won the national championship, too. 

Skenes is the top prospect in the Pirates system and CBS Sports prospect guru R.J. Anderson has said the following: 

Skenes went No. 1 in July's draft on the basis of his power arsenal and his proximity to the majors. His fastball clocked in around 98 mph during a late-season appearance in the Florida State League, and his slider has proven to be an effective chase offering. Turns out he didn't strike out nearly 48% of the batters he faced during SEC play by accident. Even so, Skenes was more polarizing in scouting circles than the above information indicates. His fastball's shape has "dead zone" properties, a fancy way of saying it's easier to track because of a similar amount of vertical and horizontal movement. That blemish won't keep Skenes from having a big-league career -- Nathan Eovaldi and Hunter Greene both have "dead zone" fastballs -- but it may cause his fastball to be less effective than it should be based on pure velocity.

Anderson has ranked Skenes as the No. 10 prospect in baseball heading into 2024.