National League Cy Young winner Skenes is expected to start twice for Team USA in the Classic.

Paul Skenes will pitch multiple times for Team USA in the forthcoming World Baseball Classic.

During a Fox Sports interview with The Athletic reporter Ken Rosenthal, Skenes stated that he expects to start twice in the Classic if the U.S. team moves beyond the group round.

“If we win and progress as expected, I will take the mound again during the tournament,” Skenes said.

Skenes is projected to make his spring training Grapefruit League debut tomorrow against the Atlanta Braves. He also told Rosenthal that he plans to pitch in a Team USA warm-up game next week in Arizona, where the team will face the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday and the Colorado Rockies on Thursday.

This contrasts with Detroit Tigers’ Tarik Skubal, who told reporters yesterday that he only intends to start once in the Classic. Given their different situations—Skubal entering his final season before free agency as a key playoff contender for the Tigers, while 23-year-old Skenes is expected to pitch multiple times—this difference is not surprising.

Skenes just completed a dominant 2025 season, pitching 187.2 innings and winning the National League Cy Young Award convincingly with a 1.97 ERA, 216 strikeouts, and a 7.7 WAR. The young Pirates ace has maintained a 1.96 ERA over his first 55 career starts and was selected to the National League All-Star team in both of his first two seasons.