Paul Skenes deals with pressure through mental strength

Photo Credit: Ryan Palencer

Saturday will be a culmination of a lot of things for Paul Skenes, when he makes his much-anticipated Major League debut.

Over the last two summers, Skenes has enjoyed a lot of eyes on him and a bright spotlight. However, prior, Skenes was seeing success at a more grounded level at Air Force.

So how did he deal with the sudden and deafening attention?

“A whirlwind is a difficult thing to call it, because in the moment it doesn’t feel like a whirlwind,“ Skenes said. “From the outside, it probably looks like a whirlwind, but for me, I don’t really feel it’s that way, because taking time every day, every week, every month to look back and reflect on what got me to this point, and what was going to get me to the next point. It’s just one day at a time.”

The hype will reach its pinnacle on Saturday when Skenes debuts against the Cubs, with the entire baseball world watching. The same mindset and mental toughness have prepared him for this pressure-packed moment.

“He is incredible in every way, from the way he’s wired to the work, the focus, and obviously the ability,” said Drew Benes, Indianapolis pitching coach. “It’s all there…Mentality is a huge separator the further you go up. The way he’s wired and the way he thinks about the game, and his ability to compete and attack is special.”

Part of that mental game is during the times he doesn’t have the ball with those bright lights shining. In his time with Indianapolis, Skenes has not shied away from putting in the work.

In fact, doing the non-stop work outside of his start is something else that is a separator for the right-hander.

“The biggest thing is going about it to get better for me,“ Skenes said. “Pitching, and examining what went well, and what didn’t, is what I need to do. Over time, it’s going to put me and the team in a better position. I don’t think that’s hugely different from spring training, to now, until July or whatever.“

Indianapolis manager Miguel Perez sees the strong mental skills that Skenes brings to the table, but he also knows that ability has played a huge role in getting him to Saturday as well.

“You see the electric stuff,” Perez said. “Off the field, he’s a great human being. He’s a great guy and great teammate. He’s the whole package.”

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