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After a fantastic college career at Air Force at LSU, and a short stint in AAA ball at Indianapolis, Paul Skenes was called up to "The Show" and has put on a show of his own.
He made his first start on May 11 and struck out the first two batters (swinging). He gave up a solo homer in the 4th with the Pirates ahead 4-0, but his team made it 6-1 in the bottom of the inning. If Skenes had not already shown his value, he would in the next inning because once he exited the game with a 6-1 lead and runners at 1st and 2nd, the bullpen imploded. It took 3 other pitchers to get out of the evening and, by that time, the Pirates trailed 8-6.
So far, he has now pitched in 8 games, compiled a 4-0 record, has an ERA of 2.14 and has a 61-8 strikeout-to-walks ratio
No wonder he is the current National League ROY betting favorite by a hefty margin. Trailing Skenes (-190) is San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill (+420) and Chicago Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga (+600).
As Gabriel Santiago writes on FanDuel.com, the annual Rookie of the Year race provides excitement for both the present and future.
Santiago also points out that Merrill may have some advantages in winning the award as position players usually beat out pitchers for the hardware. It also certainly helps to be on a club with a decent record, but that battle is far from determined. Right now, the Padres are a game over .500 and 8-1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West while the Pirates are 4 games under .500 and , but also 8-1/2 behind the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers.
Plenty of wagering will be taking place for tonight and tomorrow's epic Subway series in the Big Apple. Both games will be played at Citi Field in Queens with first pitch at 7:10 p.m.
The Yankees enter in a bit of slum with just a 3-7 record over the last 10 games, but still hold a 2-game lead on the Baltimore Orioles.
The Mets have recently been moving in the other direction with an 8-2 record in the last 10, but they still find themselves 14 games out of first.
The Yankees have 78-60 record in regular season games in the series.
Currently, Aaron Judge leads all major leaguers with 28 home runs in 2024, but Judge and Pete Alonso (Mets) will be riding the pine due to injuries. That could draw more focus on Luis Severino who has slumped himself recently. Giancarlo Stanton is back after a hamstring injury, but the bat has been dead (.143) through 7 games.
The Yankees will start RHP Gerrit Cole (0-0, 4.50 ERA) against the Met's LHP David Peterson (3-0, 3.97 ERA) in tonight's game. Tomorrow night will see right-hander Luis Gil (9-2, 2.77 ERA) goes against Lefty Sean Manaea (4-3, 4.16 ERA).
Albert Bainbridge IV at NorthJersey.com notes that "Gil is coming off not only the worst start of the season -- but of his career -- as he surrendered seven runs on eight hits and failed to get out of the second inning in the Orioles' 17-5 thrashing of the Yankees in the Bronx on June 20."