John Smoltz on Paul Skenes meriting All-Star start: ‘Probably yes’

Less than a year after he was selected first overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Paul Skenes was named an All-Star. Has the rookie flamethrower already done enough to start the All-Star Game (Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app)?

Hall of Famer John Smoltz answered that question and more as part of our All-Star-themed conversation with the MLB on FOX analyst, who also shared his thoughts on the best rookie pitcher he has ever seen, his favorite All-Star memories, any changes he would make to the game and his surprise team of the first half.

Kavner: With the All-Star Game coming up, I think one of the guys everyone’s most excited to talk about is Paul Skenes. He obviously had huge expectations coming in and has somehow exceeded them a year after being the No. 1 overall pick. Has he done enough to start the All-Star Game?

Smoltz: That’s a great question. From a standpoint of excitement, yeah — and stuff and raw talent, probably yes. Whenever, though, you’re talking about rewarding somebody for starting the All-Star Game, and somebody who’s pitched all year and is deserving, I think that’s where the nod should go. But I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that he could start, based on the timing of what other pitchers are able to do or not able to do.

The game has changed on how we view pitching. The starter used to go two guaranteed [innings], sometimes three, in an All-Star Game. But that’s not the case anymore. Teams don’t want their hard-throwing studs to be pushed beyond one inning. So, wherever he lands in that spot, he’s deserving of an All-Star — by far. But it’s not one of those that you can say he’s leapfrogged a guy that’s 14-1 or 12-1.

That’s where I land in that conversation when it comes to All-Stars. There are some things that take precedence in my mind. But the game has changed and the philosophies have changed, so you can throw some of those out the window.

Skenes has a 2.12 ERA through 10 appearances heading into Thursday’s scheduled start. Who’s the best rookie pitcher you can remember seeing? Maybe not even a rookie but a second-year guy or young guy that you can remember saying, “wow.”

I’m biased to Steve Avery when he got brought up with the Atlanta Braves. I know that’s eons ago, but he could have been, he would’ve been Clayton Kershaw before Clayton Kershaw was who he is and Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw.

I would say most modernly, when I was able to call the first game of Jacob deGrom, I remember just being blown away. He didn’t have the fanfare. It wasn’t like he came up like a [Stephen] Strasburg. You know, Strasburg blew me away, I said, I’m not gonna get caught up in this hype, broadcasting a game. It’s just a game. And I got caught up in it because he was so dynamic, he struck out 14 Pirates that day.

But I think Jacob deGrom just wowed me in his easiness and how he threw a baseball. I’m used to people thinking that I’m crazy when I make predictions, but I said, “This will be the best pitcher the Mets have.” And they were loaded back then, if you remember. Injuries have taken him down.

But I’d say those guys really stick out when I think about raw, just unbelievable actions of pitches. Strasburg is No. 1 until Skenes has come along. I fell in love with Jacob deGrom the first time I saw him throw a pitch against the Yankees in his debut. And if I remember correctly, he even got a hit. So, he showed everything he was capable of doing in his first game.

You touched on Strasburg and that is the comparison that Skenes has been getting most since debuting in May. Do you see similarities between those two when you watch them pitch?

I see similarities in their stuff. Totally different pitchers. The way they throw pitches, the way the ball explodes out of their hands, they’ve got different mechanics, funky mechanics. Of course, the sadness for me is Strasburg was never able to stay healthy. He got a chance there for a short period of time to show his dominance when they did win the World Series, an epic World Series. But to me, that’s the shame of what we have in our sport and how great they can be, when you lose a portion of your career and a portion of your greatness to injuries.

Would you change anything about the format of the All-Star Game?

Well, I will say this on the surface, we have the best All–Star Game of any of the [major] sports when it comes to playing closely to a regular-season game. It doesn’t even come close. We’ve got the more accurate version of a game being played with our superstars in an All-Star game.

But I’ve been a consistent proponent of this: I want to see the world versus USA All-Star game. I want to see what’s represented in our sport. Put that jersey on, there will be guys that would definitely want to play for their country or the world. I know there’s a big reason why we don’t do it, because of the World Baseball Classic, but I want to see it. I don’t care if it’s after I’m broadcasting, but I want to see it. I just know as a player, if they asked me to represent the USA team for an All-Star game, I’d be like, “Heck yeah, I want to be there.”

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I’d even get crazy enough to say baseball could go a week without playing and own the week of the All-Star Game and own the sport. You could have two games in seven days, back-to-back if you want, in cities wherever you want and have rosters that would be able to fill both of those.

I know that’s being a little crazy, but I’d like to still see the sport own the week. I’d love to see the players have 5-7 days off. I’d love to see the Hall of Fame [induction] be in the same week as the All-Star Game where current players can either watch or go if they wanted to. But I know that’s a lot to ask right now.

You were an All-Star for the first time in 1989 and the last time in 2007 and got to face obviously some pretty formidable hitters during that time. In your first All-Star Game, it was Ruben Sierra, Mark McGwire, Terry Steinbach, Bo Jackson and Wade Boggs. Do you recall the toughest batch of hitters you had to face?

Yeah, that’s got to be the one. I faced some people in Baltimore, came in with the bases loaded and wild pitched them clean. That’s a record that probably won’t be broken.

That first experience was an out-of-body experience. I got some info and tips on what not to do when I got there. Being a rookie and being at the All-Star Game was like a dream come true. The story that I tell all the time, they told me I was pitching behind [Rick] Reuschel. I mean, I couldn’t believe that they picked me to go second, as a rookie. So when I got there, I was so excited but not knowing where to go and none of the guys would take me down to the bullpen before the start of the game. Back then, the pitchers went two or three innings and they said, “Let’s watch the first inning here, kid, we’ll take you down afterward.”

Well, the first inning did not go very well for Rick Reuschel. He basically gave up the homers, he was in trouble and Tommy Lasorda got on the phone and said, “Get Smoltzy up.” I’m in the dugout. He goes, “Oh my goodness, kid, what are you doing?” I said, “I’ll get down there.” He goes, “How many pitches will it take?” I said about seven or eight pitches.

That’s what happened. I got into an All-Star Game without a chance to really think about anything that anybody told me. My first batter was Ruben Sierra. They told me, now that I look back, don’t throw a first pitch fastball. I did; he got a base hit. There’s [runners on] first and third, one out and here comes Bo Jackson. I just watched him hit like a 430-foot home run. I said, How am I going to get him out? I have two strikes on him, I think. I said, I’ll just get him to ground into a double play. I threw him a slider away. He grounded to Ozzie Smith, who threw to [Ryne] Sandberg and he beat out a routine double play ball and I got the loss.

So, I came in a tied game, faced the hitters — couldn’t spit, couldn’t whistle — and those are probably the collection of hitters I’ll always remember.

As you reflect on the season’s first half, which team has surprised you the most?

The Guardians have been No. 1 for me, but a close second now is the Boston Red Sox. Oh, my goodness, what in the world? They were not trending in the right direction a month ago and now they look like not only are they a playoff team, but they might add. What a job they have done over in Boston, just getting that group of players to believe. It’s remarkable.

Those two teams right now and the Milwaukee Brewers would be the third team. The division probably isn’t as strong. I don’t know if they can sustain the second half, but they are going to get a little healthier. They are exceeding everyone’s expectations. So, from an expectation standpoint, Milwaukee would be No. 1, because I don’t think anybody saw this. The Guardians at No. 2.

But Boston, wow, of late, they’ve really shown what they’re capable of. They’re very athletic, and that athleticism is starting to win out in their roster construction.

John Smoltz, a first-ballot Baseball Hall of Famer, eight-time All-Star and National League Cy Young Award winner, is FOX MLB’s lead game analyst. In addition to calling the network’s marquee regular season games, Smoltz is in the booth for the All-Star Game and a full slate of postseason matchups which include Division Series, League Championship Series and World Series assignments.

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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