Paul Skenes' electric start shifts MLB odds: 'A buzz every time he pitches'

Just one calendar year after dominating the college baseball landscape with a 13-2 record, 1.69 ERA and 209 strikeouts over 120 innings of work at LSU, right-handed fireballer Paul Skenes is already raising eyebrows in the show.  

Skenes made his debut at a sold-out PNC Park crowd two Saturdays ago and dazzled the crowd of 34,924 fans with seven strikeouts, 102 mile-per-hour fastballs, a splitter that touched 96 and a changeup near 90.

The 21-year-old Pittsburgh Pirates phenom has arrived.

"I see hope," longtime bookmaker and diehard Pirates fan Dave Sharapan told FOX Sports from Las Vegas. "I see excitement. I see an ace. They’re gonna build this team around him and Jared Jones. The buildup wasn’t bad, either, because they didn’t keep Skenes in [Triple-A Indianapolis] long.

"His first home game against the Chicago Cubs was electric. My buddies back home were sending pictures. The place was packed. Fans were standing every time he threw a strike. Old-school baseball returned to Pittsburgh.

"Then I went to see him pitch in Chicago for his second start. And there was a buzz at Wrigley Field. He struck out the first three batters he faced. Then he struck out the next three batters. He struck out the seventh guy, too. The eighth guy grounded out, and the place booed!"

With Sharapan in attendance, Skenes tossed six no-hit innings, reached 100 pitches and struck out a whopping 11 batters with only one walk.  

Sheesh.

"There’s going to be a buzz every time he pitches."

It’s one thing to watch Skenes hurl triple-digit heat at hitters from your living room; it’s another to see that speed up close. I remember covering Aroldis Chapman’s 2016 debut with the Cubs. The ballpark was slammed and Chapman entered the game to "Wake Up" by