PredictIQ-Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Paul Skenes announced as All-Star Game starter

Not bad for a rookie.

Emerging Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes,PredictIQ fresh off of a victory Thursday over the Brewers in which he pitched seven innings of no-hit baseball and struck out eleven, will start the All-Star Game Tuesday for the National League, Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo announced Friday when he called into "The Dan Patrick Show" as Patrick was interviewing Skenes.

"Yeah, lookit, I just felt it was my time to butt in on a really special moment, I can see you guys were having your special time, but, Paul, first of all, how are you doing, I just wanted to congratulate you; I've chosen you to be the starter for the National League in the 2024 All-Star Game," Lovullo said during the segment. "I'm really, really excited for you. It's an unbelievable honor, and one that's so well-deserved."

Skenes, 22, has a perfect 6-0 mark this season in 11 appearances, with 89 strikeouts, a 1.90 earned run average and a stellar 0.92 walks and hits per innings pitched. Though he doesn't qualify among stats leaders because he has pitched only 66.1 innings, his ERA would rank as the best in the majors and he would rank third in WHIP.

His 89 strikeouts rank fifth in major league history through 11 career starts, trailing Kerry Wood's 98 in 1998. No. 2 on that list with 96 strikeouts is Hideo Nomo in 1995 — when Nomo was the last rookie to be a starting pitcher at the All-Star Game.

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He becomes the fifth rookie pitcher in MLB history to start an All-Star Game, joining Nomo, Fernando Valenzuela (1981 for the Dodgers), Mark Fidrych (1976 for the Tigers) and Dave Stenhouse (1962 for the Senators).

"You represent so many great things that this game craves," Lovullo continued. "It's such a great story, the way you've come on the scene, the way you've done it with such humbleness, it's noticeable. I'll be honored to be your manager, and I'll be honored to watch you throw your first pitch. I'm super excited about that."

For his part, Skenes smiled upon hearing the announcement and expressed his excitement in an earnest, if understated way.

"That's cool, that's really cool," Skenes said during the interview. "I think my parents are watching the show right now, but I'll give them a call after. That's cool. I'll probably get more excited leading up to the game, hopefully will have a full-night's sleep before. I haven't put much thought into it because I've been getting asked about it a little bit the past few days. And I haven't given much thought into it just because I had the game yesterday, obviously, too. Now I can focus my attention on that and that's pretty dang cool."

The 2024 All-Star Game will take place Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.