As Livvy Dunne cheers on, Pirates’ Paul Skenes dominant in ‘Spring Breakout’ start

Major League Baseball

Published Mar. 15, 2024 8:38 p.m. ET

One of the biggest winners of MLB’s inaugural “Spring Breakout” prospect showcase thus far is Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes — along with his biggest fan.

Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of LSU, had a dominant showing in his inning of work against a team of Baltimore Orioles prospects, pitching a 1-2-3 inning that began with with two strikeouts.

One of those strikeouts came against Jackson Holliday, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft and the current consensus top prospect in all of baseball, as Skenes threw several pitches above 100 mph.

While Skenes looked poised on the mound, his girlfriend Livvy Dunne was far less calm. Dunne, an LSU gymnast and social media influence, posted a TikTok video of her anxiously and then excitedly watching Skenes breeze through his inning of work against Orioles batters.

Dunne also later posted a highlight of Skenes’ three-pitch strikeout of Enrique Bradfield Jr. to her Instagram story feed.

Holliday was also impressed, with high praise for his fellow top draft pick.

Dunne and Skenes met at LSU and Skenes confirmed they were dating shortly after Skenes made his professional debut with the Pirates’ minor league affiliate Bradenton Marauders after he was drafted last year. Dunne was in attendance for that game.

Skenes is currently No. 3 on MLBPipeline’s list of Top 100 prospects. He is expected to make his MLB debut this coming season, as is Holliday.

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