Star rookie Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes is an MLB All-Star, and his girlfriend, social media influencer and former LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne, is just as excited.
Skenes earned his trip to the All-Star game on the National League side just a year after being the first overal selection in the 2023 MLB draft, thanks to a stellar rookie season thus after being promoted to the big leagues in early May. With 10 starts in his MLB career so far, Skenes has 78 strikeouts and a 2.12 ERA and boasts the fastest average fastball velocity among all MLB starting pitchers at 99.2 mph. The Pirates are 7-3 when he starts.
To celebrate, Dunne surprised Skenes with cake, champagne and balloons when he came home after hearing he was an All-Star.
Skenes became the first player in league history to be taken No. 1 overall in the sports/mlb” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>MLB Draft and then named the following year to an All-Star team. He is the first Pirates rookie pitcher to ever be named to an All-Star Game.
“This is cool, and I’m just grateful for all you guys,” Skenes said to teammates in the clubhouse after being given the news of his All-Star selection by manager Derek Shelton. “Since the first day I’ve been here I’ve been part of the team. I couldn’t have done it without you guys.”
The All-Star accolades may not be done yet for Skenes in the coming days, as he is also a candidate to start the game for NL manager Torey Luvollo of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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