Paul Skenes’ contract details with the Pirates: How much money does the star pitcher make?

Paul Skenes came out of college as the hottest prospect in baseball. So hot in fact, that he went first overall to the Pittsburgh Pirates in last year’s draft and signed a record contract.

With a signing bonus of $9.2 million, Skenes came in around a half million under his slot value but still set a record by $800,000 over the previous mark.

Skenes’ deal was an accountancy exercise for one year only as a way to get the signing bonus into his hands. Now that he has been called up, he will play for the league minimum, currently $740,000, while the club owns his player rights. Upon reaching five years in the Show, he will be eligible for free agency, by which time he could well be a Cy Young candidate and worth a considerable fortune.

It is worth noting that Skenes was a powerful hitter when he started off at Air Force before LSU converted him to a full time pitcher. He has previously stated that he would like the opportunity to hit in MLB, so if that should come to pass, you could well be looking at a young Shohei Ohtani in the making.

Skenes reported that signing with Pittsburgh was one of the easiest decisions of his life, not only for the eye-popping signing bonus, but because the organization struck a chord with him.

General Manager Ben Cherington and the front office have a player development style that Skenes appreciates. Asked about the conversations that he has had with the Pirates over his two-way ability, Skenes said, “Yeah, it is a conversation that we have had and it is ‘to be determined’.”