Double-A Altoona placed Skenes on the development list Tuesday. "He's checked all of the boxes we aimed for him to check during the 2023 season," the Pirates announced in a press release. "The goal now is to focus on a complete offseason in preparation for his first full professional year in 2024."
Skenes was selected as the No. 1 overall pick out of LSU this past July and allowed four earned runs while tallying 10 strikeouts across his first 6.2 minor-league innings between the rookie-level Florida Complex League, Single-A Bradenton and Double-A Altoona. He should enter 2024 as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball.