The new season for Major League Baseball is underway. As teams plan which rookie players to hold onto for 2024 and beyond,  one name sticks out among the prospect rankings and evaluations: LSU standout Paul Skenes. Skenes had a setback when the Pirates placed him on the development list, preventing him from playing professionally in the 2023 season, despite being the first overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft with a staggering $9.2 million bonus.

With the start of the new season, Skenes is poised to return, winning a position on the Pirates’ non-roster invitee list for the 2024 Spring Training. It looks like he also has the support of his gymnastics celebrity girlfriend, Olivia Dunne, and her mother.

MLB sensation returns with major goals

Skenes’ name is included among the 13 players selected by the Pirates in their list of non-roster invitees for the 2024 Spring Training, released recently. The list also includes the five athletes from MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 lineup, where he ranked third. Skenes confirmed the update on Instagram with an action-packed throw video with the caption, “Time to compete.” However, all the attention went on encouraging actions of the Dunne family: Olivia shared his post on her Instagram story, and her mother, Katherine Dunne, commented on Skenes’ reel with three applause emoticons.

2023’s famous athletic celeb couple, Olivia and Paul, met at Louisiana State University and were friends early on. Their romance rumors first arose when NCAA’s richest female athlete, Dunne, showed up at a baseball game wearing Skenes’ jersey, later confirmed by him in an interview. As news of the couple’s relationship became the talk of the town, Dunne’s mother tagged along, sharing the young couple’s picture on her Instagram story. Now that Dunne’s dog Roux lives with them, they seem to be a picture-perfect little family, supporting Skenes in his quest for a victorious comeback to the baseball pitch.

What does Paul Skenes’s MLB portfolio look like?

Last year, Skenes made headlines by becoming the second player in LSU history—after Ben McDonald, to be chosen #1 overall in the draft and earning the biggest signing bonus ever for a player selected by draft order. His NCAA records held up on the merits! He is a powerful player on the field with a fastball that can reach 98 mph and a useful slider, as seen in the Florida State League.

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The one drawback for Skenes is not having pitched the equivalent of a whole game’s worth of innings in his short professional career. Still, Skenes is keen to establish his value and leave a lasting impression in the season.

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