If you believe great athletes are born and not made, Paul Skenes is certainly a prime example. As his proud parents, Craig and Karen, told MLB.com in 2024, they knew their son was destined for greatness early on. At just seven years old, Skenes was constantly playing with a baseball and watching as many games as he could on TV. “It’s all I’ve ever done, really,” he acknowledged. “Baseball is the only sport I ever wanted to play.”
While he was trying out for USA Baseball’s 12U National Team (for players aged 12 and under) in 2014, Skenes met his eventual high school coach, Mike Gonzalez. “He had a great arm and he had great mechanics,” Gonzales told the Lafayette Daily Advertiser. Needless to say, Skenes made the official roster. Once he reached high school, Skenes had big shoes to fill. El Toro High and Gonzalez had already produced major leaguers Matt Chapman, Nolan Arenado, and Austin Romine by that time, but Skenes immediately stood out as something special. “Out of those four guys, Paul had the most power in batting practice in high school,” Gonzalez told The Athletic. “Without a doubt, he could hit the ball farther at that time in high school than all three of those guys.”
Skenes’ sheer size was also on display as a 6-foot-1-inch freshman. “When he left, he was 6-7 or 6-whatever he is now,” Gonzalez said, adding that the star player “was just a massive human being.”
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