A one-of-a-kind talent, the Pirates haven’t had this hype around a pitcher since maybe Gerrit Cole. Paul Skenes is that guy right now. He is hitting triple digits consistently, painting corners, and doing it all with that bulldog presence on the mound. Honestly, his debut season already had flashes of dominance, and now with year two, he’s got a real shot to make that leap into ace territory. Now, what comes along is money, fame, hype, and apparently a massive sale of his rookie card.

The hype around Skenes contributed to his rookie card being sold at auction for an astounding $1.11 million. And this has set a new benchmark for modern baseball collectibles! Yes, as ridiculous as it sounds, it’s true. This unique 2024 Topps Chrome Update, featuring a patch from Skenes’ jersey worn during his major league debut and his autograph, made the collectors go gaga. The bid even dwarfs Skenes’ salary. Can you believe that?

Skenes’ rookie salary this year is $875K — yeah, he literally earned more from the card than from his play! So, it surely calls for a response from Skenes.

“It’s a piece of paper to me.”

Skenes seems unbothered with his card, which made millions from the market. But he seems to be overwhelmed by the one who won the bid. “We still don’t know who the kid is or the family is, but I do think they’re going to come out to a game at some point,” Skenes shared. “I want to meet them. I hope that they want to meet me and it’s going to be just a cool, no-camera, nobody-knows-about-it kind of thing.”

Well, seems a part of Skenes’ wish came true. He was genuinely thrilled when he finally found out that an 11-year-old fan had pulled his rare rookie card. “Super. Super excited.” He even casually shared that the worst outcome would have been if a 50-year-old collector had found it instead! A joke maybe, but players definitely get thrilled when the young generation resonates with them.

Despite everything, it might be surprising to see how a piece of paper can cause all the hubbub among fans!   

But let’s be honest here for one second! The buyer might have made the right choice. With the form Skenes is showing, his card will fetch better money in the future. So, that’s an investment, probably! His performance against the Nationals yesterday just made a point about what Paul Skenes can bring to the table going ahead.

Skenes’ on-field figures are doing all the talking

Skenes’ off-field craze is now well-established with the amount his card fetched. But what is complementing this hype is his action on the field.

​Paul Skenes is indeed in an exceptional form this season. Remember his historic 2024 rookie year? Last year, he posted an 11–3 record with a 1.96 ERA and set a Pirates rookie record with 170 strikeouts over 133 innings. This year seems to be no different, with Skenes projected to further elevate his game in 2025.

For the unversed, FanGraphs projects him to achieve a 2.80 ERA across 31 starts. This comes with a remarkable 242 strikeouts in 188 innings pitched.

The game against the Nationals witnessed Skenes delivering a stellar performance, allowing just two runs (one earned) over six innings with six strikeouts, helping the Pirates secure a 10–3 victory. So, with such dominant performances, Skenes is not only a key asset for the Pirates but also a strong contender for the 2025 NL Cy Young Award, aiming to become the first Pirates pitcher to win the honor since Doug Drabek in 1990.

So, expectedly, his fastballs would break some wood this year. Why not when you consistently hit 100–102 mph, sometimes even touching 103?

Now that Skenes is coming out of this rookie season, it would be interesting to watch how Topps releases his future cards and what hype they can generate among the fans. Do you think he is the next big thing in the making?