Pirates manager gives ridiculous reason as to why Paul Skenes is not in MLB

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Paul Skenes with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft with expectations of him leading their rotation for a long time in the future. Key words there are in the future.

Despite Skenes showing that he's more than ready to pitch at the MLB level, the Pirates have shown little urgency to promote him. The right-hander has yet to allow a run in his four AAA starts and has 27 strikeouts compared to just four walks on the season. His stuff is absurd, and he's showing that he has nothing to prove.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton disagrees, saying Skenes has improvements to make in AAA. Only what he says he needs to improve upon makes no sense.

Paul Skenes needs to be in the majors, and these comments from the Pirates manager confirms that

“There is a plan in place,” Shelton said, h/t Audacy. “I know sometimes people want to expedite that plan and I understand that, that’s human nature, but we just feel there are steps he needs to take before we ultimately make that decision.”

Shelton notes two things. Pitch count and efficiency. Those are the reasons why Skenes is not in the majors. Let's tackle them one by one.

When it comes to pitch count, who is in control of that? The Pirates are the ones limiting him. Plus, why does it matter where the pitches are thrown? Skenes throwing 65 pitches as he did on Thursday night in his dominant 3.1 innings could've easily happened at the MLB level. Why is pitch count the reason why he can't be in the majors? The Pirates are limiting Jared Jones even with him dominating, why can't the same thing be done with Skenes?

When it comes to efficiency, yes, Skenes should be more efficient than he was on Thursday night. Still, a big reason for that has to do with the eight strikeouts he racked up in just 3.1 innings pitched. Only two of the outs that the opposition recorded against him were put into the field of play. What is Skenes supposed to do? Throw it right down the middle so teams might be able to make contact with his 100+ mph fastball?

He walked two, which isn't outrageous. He allowed one hit. He didn't allow a run. He hasn't allowed a run all season. What're we doing here?

The Pirates are 11-8 on the season and in a weaker NL Central division, they have a chance to be competitive. Fielding the best 26 players on the roster will only help with that. No argument can be made that suggests Skenes is not among the best 26 players in this Pirates organization. Let him continue to grow in the majors while simultaneously helping the Pirates win, which is the ultimate goal anyway. He has absolutely nothing else to prove in the minors.