2023 1st overall pick Paul Skenes made his Major League Baseball debut on Saturday against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park. It’s the perfect opportunity to look back at the five most hyped MLB debuts since 2000.
5. Paul Skenes
It may be recency bias to have Skenes so high up on this list, but the expectations for him are sky high. The 2023 No. 1 pick rose through the Pittsburgh Pirates’ system following his dominant 2023 campaign, throwing for the Louisiana State University Tigers. With LSU, Skenes made 19 starts and only allowed 23 ER for a stellar 1.69 ERA.
During the 2023 MiLB season, Skenes only made five starts, but his intangibles are off the charts. Skenes began the 2024 season with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, where he made seven starts. While the Pirates limited his innings, he still continued to dominate the competition. Tossing numerous triple-digit fastballs and breaking balls in the upper-to-mid 80s, he surrendered three earned runs over 27.1 innings pitched — a 0.99 ERA.
Finally, he got the call up to MLB to make his debut against division rival Chicago Cubs.
Skenes recorded his first two strikeouts against Mike Tauchman and Seiya Suzuki — the first two batters he faced — on nine pitches. Nico Hoerner tagged him for a home run in the fourth inning. Skenes allowed the first two hitters in the fifth inning to reach before he was taken out of the ballgame. Both runners would eventually score after a bullpen implosion that saw the Cubs score seven runners in the inning. Pittsburgh’s bullpen issued six bases-loaded walks in the inning.
Overall, Skenes showcased his intangibles in his debut and surrendered three earned runs in four innings while striking out seven.
Being the son of a MLB Hall of Famer is difficult enough for any player. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. dominated MiLB from 2016-2019 and has made a name for himself.
Over his four minor league seasons, he crushed the baseball and became baseball’s top prospect before the 2019 season.
Guerrero Jr. made his hyped MLB debut on April 26, 2019 — when he was just 20 years old — and he recorded his first MLB hit.
His rookie season started slowly, but he eventually put together a strong season that landed him sixth place in AL ROTY voting.
In 2024, Guerrero Jr. has racked up plenty of accomplishments. He’s a three-time AL All-Star, the All-Star Game MVP, Home Run Derby winner, and has earned one Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Award.
At his best, Guerrero Jr. is one of the best pure sluggers in the game. His 48 home runs tied Salvador Perez for the most in the 2021 campaign. Since his 2019 debut, he has 134 home runs.
One of the most talented MLB players ever also had one of the most hyped debuts in history.
Shohei Ohtani took the Japanese baseball world by storm by playing both sides of the ball — a rare commodity in baseball history. Following a few dominant campaigns in Nippon Professional Baseball, he signed with the Los Angeles Angels at 23 years old.
“Showtime” made his heavily-anticipated debut on March 29, 2018, against the Oakland Athletics. He recorded his first hit in that game, but was unsuccessful in his other four at-bats.
In his second game, he proved the hype to be true. Ohtani launched a home run, recorded three hits and three RBI and scored two runs.
Everyone knows about Ohtani now. In his first six seasons, Ohtani has two AL MVPs, the 2018 AL Rookie of the Year, two Silver Slugger Awards and three AL All-Star appearances.
When healthy, Ohtani is one of the best hitters and pitchers in the sport.
2. Bryce Harper
You could argue that Bryce Harper deserves to be the No. 1 most hyped MLB debut since 2010, and I wouldn’t argue at all. Unfortunately, his teammate was just slightly higher than him on this list.
Still, the 19-year-old’s hype was exemplary. Nicknamed “The Chosen One” in a 2009 Sports Illustrated story, he has lived up to the hype in his career.
However, before the two-time MVP stepped on the diamond, he was demolishing baseballs better than nearly every other high school baseball player, ever. His incredible status led to him reclassifying for the June 2010 draft, when he was the easy first overall pick for the Washington Nationals.
He tore through MiLB and made his incredibly hyped debut on April 28, 2012 against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. He recorded his first RBI in that game, and he finished one for four with a double.
In 139 games with the big league club, Harper went on to win the 2012 National League Rookie of the Year — the first of many accomplishments to the future Hall of Fame career.
Stephen Strasburg’s debut was the most hyped MLB debut since 2010, and he backed up the excitement immediately.
Following a dominant campaign at San Diego State University, Strasburg was taken first overall in the year prior to Harper.
Strasburg soared through the minor leagues in 2010 and made his debut on June 8 of the same year.
His first taste of MLB action was magical. At Nationals Park against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Strasburg tossed seven innings and struck out 14 hitters — the third-most in a MLB debut since 1908.
The 2010 Washington Nationals were dreadful and finished with a last-place record of 69-93 in NL East. Still, fans packed to see Strasburg’s debut. Over 40,000 crazed fans packed Nationals Park on his debut. The following day, only 18,000 fans watched Game 2 of the three-game set against Pittsburgh.
Strasburg had a stellar career — three All-Star appearances and the 2019 World Series MVP — but injuries in the back-half of his career halted him from remaining on the field.
Strasburg retired from baseball on April 6, 2024.
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