Give Paul Skenes the ball and let him go to work.

Jul 16, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; National League pitcher Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates (30) looks on in the first inning against the American League during the 2024 MLB All-Star game at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Paul Skenes is a phenomenon. Not only has he won the hearts of Pittsburgh Pirates fans with his absurd beginning to his MLB career, but he is already one of the most popular players in all of MLB. I don’t think that’s too much of a stretch to say. Whenever Skenes takes the ball, he’s must-see TV for all fan bases.

Through 11 starts this season, he has a 1.90 ERA in 66.1 innings of work. He has 89 strikeouts compared to just 13 walks. Opponents are hitting just .202 against him. What’s scarier is that he’s only been getting better, ending his first half with an outing of seven innings against the first-place Milwaukee Brewers, not giving up a single hit and striking out 11.

His dominance earned him not only a spot on the All-Star team, but he was the starter for the National League and pitched a scoreless first inning.

Skenes has been unbelievable, but there was one major concern attached to him. Thankfully, Pirates manager Derek Shelton did his best to quell that with comments made on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh.

Pirates fans worst Paul Skenes fears won’t be realized with latest update

The concern with Skenes, as is the case with many rookie pitchers, was the thought of the Pirates potentially shutting him down. Pirates fans have seen the organization be extremely careful with fellow standout rookie Jared Jones who has been pulled early in games and had a start skipped to manage his innings.

Fortunately, it sounds like Skenes being shut down is not in consideration, at least not yet.

The right-hander has thrown 93.2 innings this season combining his time in the majors and minors. He threw 129.1 innings last season. Assuming he continues to dominate and go six or seven innings virtually every time out, he’s going to blow past that innings total.

Doing so can cause some concern when it comes to injury, but the reality of pitching is there is nothing that can be done to completely negate injuries. They were ultra-cautious with Jones and he is currently on the IL nursing a lat injury. The Miami Marlins were even more cautious with their prized pitching prospect, Eury Perez, and he has missed the entire year recovering from Tommy John Surgery.

While yes, the Pirates are risking injury by letting Skenes hypothetically blow past his previous innings high, it’s not as if letting him pitch in July and August is risk-free. The risk-reward greatly favors letting Skenes go and getting back in the postseason for the first time since 2015, and that’s the choice that an overwhelming majority of Pirates fans would want.