Pirates ace Paul Skenes to start All-Star Game for second consecutive year

Colin Beazley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jul 12, 2025

Published in Baseball

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MINNEAPOLIS — For the second consecutive year, second-year starter Paul Skenes will start the MLB All-Star Game.

Skenes, 23, will start for the National League team on Tuesday in Atlanta. The decision was announced on Fox on Saturday evening.

Skenes was one of the two favorites to start the game, then became the overwhelming favorite when Phillies ace Zack Wheeler said he’d opt out of the event. Skenes has just a 4-8 record, but he leads the majors with a 2.01 ERA. He’s completed 121 innings, the fourth-highest total in the majors. He has 131 strikeouts, seventh-most in baseball, and has allowed a majors-low 27 earned runs (among qualified starters). His 4.8 WAR is the best in the game.

Asked after Friday’s start in Minneapolis, Skenes told the Post-Gazette it wasn’t a big deal to him if he started or not.

“I want to pitch in it, for sure,” Skenes said. “It's out of my hands. I don't know who else is up for it, but I think it should be whoever pitches best over the first half. So if ... [Dodgers manager] Dave Roberts thinks that's the case, then you know, I'd be honored to start. I'm honored to pitch in it either way.”

Roberts agreed, choosing the player who pitched the best in the first half as his starter.

With the nod, Skenes will become the first pitcher ever to start the All-Star Game in both of his first two seasons, per the Elias Sports Bureau. Just four other players have started the All-Star Game in each of their first two major league seasons: Joe DiMaggio, Ichiro Suzuki, Rod Carew and Frank Robinson.

Tigers’ ace Tarik Skubal, with a 10-3 record and a 2.23 ERA, will start for the American League team.

The 2025 MLB All-Star Game will take place on Tuesday at Truist Park in Atlanta. First pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m. The game will be televised on Fox.