The 2026 World Baseball Classic is less than a year away, and Team USA’s roster is shaping up. First, they announced that Mark DeRosa would return as manager. Then, Aaron Judge, in his first-ever WBC appearance, was named as the team’s captain. And now, Team USA has itself a starting pitcher. Pittsburgh Pirates’ phenom Paul Skenes was announced by MLB as the latest player to commit to the international tournament.
Skenes, who won’t even turn 23 years old until May 29, is in his second season in the majors. The Pirates selected him first-overall in the June 2023 MLB Draft, and Skenes was in the bigs less than a year later. He ended up winning National League Rookie of the Year honors in 2024 after posting a 1.96 ERA across 133 innings and 23 starts, while striking out 11.5 batters per nine. Skenes punched out one-third of the batters he faced last summer, and over half of the balls in play against him were grounders: that 1.96 ERA didn’t come out of nowhere, it was earned with his performance.
In 2025, Skenes kicked off the year by becoming the fastest-ever starter selected No. 1 in the MLB Draft to make an Opening Day start, per Sarah Langs. While Skenes has struggled a bit more in his sophomore campaign — he’s striking out just under 25% of batters, and his walks are ever-so-slightly up — this is all relative. He’s still managing an ERA of 2.63 through his first nine starts, and has once again managed to keep the ball in the park and regularly on the ground.
Team USA was placed in Pool B in the tournament, alongside Mexico, Italy, Great Britain, and Brazil. Their first game in the 2026 tournament will be played on March 6, at Daikin Park against Brazil. Mark your calendars, as it’s likely going to be the most significant start of Skenes’ career to that point.
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