Morning Roundup: Paul Skenes Signs, Pitching Struggles Continue, Lonnie White Jr.

The Pirates signing first overall pick Paul Skenes headlines a day in which the offense struggles, and Lonnie White Jr. hits his first Single-A home run.

The day started well, as the Pirates signed first overall pick Paul Skenes to a record breaking $9.2 million bonus on Tuesday.

Adding Skenes to the system is huge, touted as one of the best college pitchers in the history of the draft, the righty will look to work his way to Pittsburgh and become that front line starter the organization needs him to be.

Whenever he finds his way to the majors, it will be a welcome addition to an organization who hasn’t had that legitimate front line starter since the Gerrit Cole era.

It helps an immediate need for the Pirates, whose pitching continues to struggle in the month of July. In 14 games this month, the pitching staff has allowed 90 runs, almost 6.5-per game.

In two games against the Cleveland Guardians they’ve allowed 21-runs total. They’ve won just a total of two games in July, finding themselves in last place after finishing April at the top of the NL Central.

This hasn’t excused the offense, especially of late. Since coming out the All-Star break, Pirates’ hitters have connected for just 10 runs in five games.

As the team continues their youth movement, we can expect there to be even more growing pains but at some point there has to be some sort of foot in the sand to say ‘this is enough’. Whether that’s some changes made within the organization, or some of the players stepping up and saying so, there needs to be something.

Their 20-8 start is the only thing keeping them from not being on a 100-loss pace currently.

Lonnie White Jr. Home Run

It’s been a long time coming to see Lonnie White get consistent playing time on the field. The first couple of games I saw him play over the weekend had some ok moments in it, but a lot of stuff that made it obvious he hadn’t played much the last couple of years.

One thing that was immediately noticeable was that he looked a little uncomfortable in the box against breaking pitches, either swinging and missing, or just unsure of how to approach it.

Adjustments part of the game, he fared well on Tuesday, not only drawing three walks but also hitting his first Single-A home run. White has the tools to be an exciting player, but he’s got some making up to do on the field.