Paul Skenes Getting Frustrated With His Limited Workload, But Pirates Are Playing It Safe

Paul Skenes is getting sick and tired of these restrictive pitch counts.

The Pittsburgh Pirates' top prospect tossed his fourth-consecutive scoreless start for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians on Thursday — tallying one hit, two walks and eight strikeouts in just 3 1/3 innings.

"I wasn’t happy," Skenes told MLB.com about being pulled in the fourth inning. "But it’s over [manager Miguel Perez’s] head. It’s over my head."

Skenes has thrown 19 1/3 innings across nine professional appearances. Pittsburgh has played it safely and slowly after seeing him throw more than 120 innings for the LSU Tigers last year. 

But Skenes isn't alone — the Pirates are handling rookie pitcher Jared Jones conservatively as well. Jones was drafted in the second round of the 2020 MLB June Amateur Draft out of La Mirada H.S. in California.

Pirates Don't Want To Risk Injury With Paul Skenes

Of course, this all comes amid a surge in pitcher arm injuries, which has even caused the MLB Players Association to sound the alarms. Through the first 100 days of this season, there have been 16 pitchers in MLB organizations, nine of whom were on big league rosters, who have needed Tommy John surgery.

READ: MLBPA Blames Pitch Clock For Increase In Pitcher Injuries, MLB Says ‘No Evidence’ That's True

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington weighed in during a recent interview on 93.7 the Fan.

"I think globally for baseball, not just as an industry, but just baseball as a sport generally, down to the grassroots amateur level, we need to be looking at this issue holistically, in a way that’s comprehensive and is examining every potential piece of the issue," Cherington said. 

"It just seems like something that is far too complicated to rely on one thing as the cause. Many times, when there is a problem, there can be more than one cause. We really need to be considering all of it."

(Photo by Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images)

This season, Skenes has pitched 12 2/3 innings, giving up five hits and four walks overall. He has also struck out 57.4 percent of the batters he has faced.

"It’s gone well," Skenes said of his first few weeks of the season. "A little bit frustrating sometimes, but I mean, taking it slow is just how it goes. But it’s gone well."

As of yet, the Pirates have given no indication of when Skenes will make his MLB debut.

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