Paul Skenes' Fastball Just Sounds Different

Pittsburgh Pirates uber-prospect Paul Skenes was on the mound for a spring training game in Florida on Monday and man he had the glove popping. I'm going to say something that sounds ridiculous but it's true: the sound of Skenes' fastball hitting the glove is glorious.

Here's one pitch from his outing and, please, turn the sound up:

That sounds like a gunshot. And, yes, I'm aware there's probably something weird going on with the acoustics in the stadium, but when a guy can routinely hit triple digits, things are going to sound different.

Skenes has been up to 102 mph this spring already and dominated in his first outing. On Monday, Skenes went two innings, struck out three, allowed three hits and one run -- a solo home run by Amed Rosario. Rosario was the first batter Skenes faced.

Here's the highlight of Rosario's home run, which came on the second pitch Skenes threw:

Other than that, Skenes looked really good considering he hasn't faced big league hitters before.

The Pirates made Skenes the No. 1 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft and gave him a $9.2 million signing bonus for a reason. The 6-foot-6, 235-pound LSU product is universally recognized as the top pitching prospect in all of baseball. He won't spend much time in the minor leagues.