Pirates’ dream future rotation comes with one major Paul Skenes catch

The Pittsburgh Pirates made the controversial decision to select Seth Hernandez, a pitcher coming out of high school, with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. The pick wasn't controversial because of anything Hernandez has done, but an already pitching-rich organization taking a pitcher years away from contributing at the MLB level when it had a major position player need certainly raised some eyebrows. As controversial as it was, some Pirates fans are dreaming about what's to come on the pitching front.

I don't know if I'd go as far as to say this future rotation has the potential to be one of the best ever, but there's certainly a lot to be excited about. Paul Skenes is arguably the best pitcher on the planet right now, Bubba Chandler is one of the best pitching prospects in the game, Hernandez is uber-talented, Jared Jones displayed immense upside last season and Hunter Barco is rising up prospect lists.

But as exciting as a rotation like this sounds, are we sure it will ever come to fruition?

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Pirates dream rotation is ignoring one major Paul Skenes-sized catch

It's important to point out that Andrew Fillipponi of 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh notes that this rotation is likely to come to fruition around 2028. It's possible that Hernandez can be a fast riser if things break his way, but since he's coming out of high school, it's reasonable to expect that he's still at least a couple of years away from his MLB debut.

Let's say that 2028 is the year in which this group finally forms. Are we sure Skenes will be in town by then? Skenes is only under club control through the 2029 campaign, and the odds that a Bob Nutting-owned team spends close to what it'd take to keep him around as a free agent are practically zero. Well, if the Pirates know they'll risk losing Skenes for nothing, wouldn't it make sense for them to trade him around 2028?

The same can honestly be said about Jones, another star pitcher who will hit free agency after 2029. The odds of the Pirates paying him are certainly higher than Skenes, but they're closer to zero than 100 percent. There's a chance he'll be traded at some point in the not-too-distant future, too.

To put it simply, while Hernandez has tons of potential, taking him when the need for impact now, while Skenes is on the team and preferably on the offensive side of the ball when the Pirates are the worst offensive team in the sport, is a head-scratching decision. There's a very real chance that this dream rotation either never comes to fruition or sticks together for a season at most. With a dynamic talent like shortstop Aiva Arquette on the board, it's hard to make sense of what the Pirates did.