Paul Skenes named All-Star Game starting pitcher for second straight year
By Andrew Olson
Published:
For the second time in his two-season career, Paul Skenes is the NL starting pitcher for the All-Star Game. At 23, Skenes is the youngest pitcher to start back-to-back ASGs.
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The announcement was made on Saturday. Tarik Skubal will get the start for the AL squad.
Your NL #AllStarGame starting pitcher for the second straight year: Paul Skenes pic.twitter.com/P4NsKp2E1M
— MLB (@MLB) July 12, 2025
Skenes’ getting the start was highly expected and widely considered to be decided. Still, Los Angeles Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts wanted to deliver the official decision to Skenes on Saturday.
The call to National League Starting Pitcher, Paul Skenes pic.twitter.com/s38F41vV4o
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 12, 2025
Skenes is having a fantastic second season after being named NL Rookie of the Year in 2024. In 20 starts this season, the former LSU star is posting an ERA of 2.01 over 121 innings with 131 strikeouts to 30 walks. Skenes has a record of just 4-8, but that’s because the Pittsburgh Pirates are 20 games under .500 at 38-58 on the season.
Last season, Skenes finished at 5.9 WAR (wins above replacement-level player). At this point of the season he’s already at 4.8 WAR.
The 2025 All-Star Game is set for Tuesday in Atlanta at 8 p.m. ET.
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Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
