Skenes was named the National League starting pitcher for the 2025 All-Star Game on July 15th. Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal will be the starting pitcher for the American League squad.
Pittsburgh's young ace made the All-Star Game his rookie year in 2024 after just 11 starts, which was a record until Milwaukee Brewers' rookie sensation was named to the National League All-Star team after just a mind-boggling five starts.
Skenes received the news of his start for this year's game while on a call with Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who will be the manager for the NL squad during the All-Star Game.
The 23-year-old ace for the Pirates is currently the running favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award, pitching a league-best 2.01 earned run average in 20 starts so far this season.
Skenes' 131 strikeouts are the seventh most in the MLB and fourth most in the NL behind Zack Wheeler (154 - Philadelphia Phillies), Logan Webb (139 - San Francisco Giants), and MacKenzie Gore (138 - Washington Nationals).
The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft has been arguably the best pitcher in baseball since his debut. In 2024, Skenes finished with an unreal 1.96 ERA and an 11-3 record with 170 strikeouts in 133 innings, earning 23 of 30 first-place votes en route to his NL Rookie of the Year award.
