Before Paul Skenes, the Pirates had 5 No. 1 overall draft picks: A look at their MLB debuts

The excitement surrounding a No. 1 overall pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates arguably has never been higher, with pitcher Paul Skenes earning his much-anticipated call-up to the big leagues to start Saturday at PNC Park against the Chicago Cubs.

However, the situation is far from foreign for the Pirates, who have had six such picks, the most of all MLB franchises.

Beginning with third baseman Jeff King (1986), the Pirates over the years have gone on to select right-handers Kris Benson (1996), Bryan Bullington (2002) and Gerrit Cole (2011) as well as catcher Henry Davis (2021) at No. 1 overall, with varying (and ongoing) results.

As Skenes prepares to make his MLB debut, below is a look at how the five No. 1 overall selections before him fared in their own first taste of big-league action.

Henry Davis: June 19, 2023

When Skenes debuts Saturday, it will be just under 11 months since Davis did the same, also against the Cubs.

Davis, drafted as a catcher out of Louisville, debuted as a right fielder for the Pirates.

Facing Cubs starter Drew Smyly, he worked a full count and doubled into left field in his first at-bat.

Congratulations to Henry Davis on his first Major League hit in his first at-bat!

Career batting average: 1.000 ???? pic.twitter.com/2YhL7MzGZP

— MLB (@MLB) June 20, 2023

Davis later collected his first walk and added a strikeout and lineout in his other two at-bats, with the Pirates losing to Chicago, 8-0.

Following his debut: By the end of June, Davis was sporting a .317 batting average through his first 41 major-league at-bats. But his offense tailed off from there, and he finished 2023 with a .213 batting average, although he did memorably become the first player to hit multiple home runs in the same game off then-Los Angeles Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani, doing so on July 21.

Davis earned the Pirates’ starting catcher gig coming out of spring training a few months ago but recently was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis to work on his offense, having hit just .162 in 23 games at the time of his demotion.

“The one thing that stands out about Hank is he works his tail off,” Pirates closer David Bednar said. “That’s very impressive for someone drafted so high. He has a grinder mentality to it, so I think he’s got a great career ahead of him.

“He’s all about his business. When you see a common theme about guys who stick around a long time, they take the game seriously, want to get better every day, and Hank checks all those boxes.”

Gerrit Cole: June 11, 2013

In his MLB debut, Cole faced two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park.

Cole’s debut was highly anticipated by fans, but dissimilar to the buzz around Skenes, largely to the vast difference in social media prevalence in 2013 vs. 2024.

“It was a little bit different,” said Pirates broadcaster Neil Walker, who played with Cole from 2013-15. “In 2013, there wasn’t as much of a social media presence, so there wasn’t quite as much hype. There was, but there wasn’t any type of artificial buildup. Social media existed, but you basically knew what MLB Network was telling you and what Baseball America was telling you, for the most part.”

Cole went on to give up two runs in 6 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits with a pair of strikeouts and no walks.

Cole’s first MLB start began with a bang, as he struck out Gregor Blanco in three pitches, all fastballs that clocked 96 mph.

Looking back, Andrew McCutchen, whom the Pirates traded two days after they dealt Cole in a January 2018 fire sale, found significance in Cole’s debut for a number of reasons.

“You go through the list of first-round pitchers that the Pirates drafted, and they really just didn’t pan out. It happened a lot,” McCutchen said. “The promise was there like all the other ones, but (Cole) lived up to the hype of what he was projected to do.”

McCutchen started that evening and collected two hits in the 8-2 win.

“It was unique to be out in center field watching him going out, throwing 98-100 (mph) and consistently sitting there throughout the whole game,” McCutchen said. “He might have even got a hit in his debut, if I could remember.”

McCutchen’s memory is correct.

In addition to picking up the win, Cole knocked in a pair of runs with a bases-loaded, RBI single in the second inning.

Following his debut: Cole became a key member of the Pirates 2013 club that ended 20 straight years of losing in Pittsburgh and developed into a staff ace as the team ascended to the playoffs for three straight seasons between 2013-15.

Cole found even more success away from Pittsburgh, earning five All-Star selections (2018, 2019, 2021-23) with the Houston Astros and New York Yankees. As a member of the Yankees in 2023, he captured the AL Cy Young.

Kris Benson: April 9, 1999

Benson was a collegiate standout at Clemson, earning ACC Athlete of the Year honors for all sports in 1996.

By the time Benson made his MLB debut early in the 1999 campaign, the Pirates had fallen on hard times, riding six straight losing seasons.

But a new ballpark (the construction of PNC Park began only two days before Benson’s first outing) offered the promise of a new chapter for the Pirates, of which Benson was at the forefront.

“We weren’t really good in the late ‘90s, and he was thought of as being the anchor to the staff when we moved over to PNC Park in 2001,” said Pirates team historian Jim Trdinich. “… There was a lot of hype for Kris Benson.”

Benson and the Pirates faced the Chicago Cubs at Three Rivers Stadium for his MLB debut.

Despite recording only two hits, the Pirates won 2-1.

Benson lasted six innings, allowing two hits and a run with three walks and three strikeouts, picking up the victory.

Following his debut: Benson went 11-14 with a 4.07 ERA in 1999 as a rookie and was sharp in 2000, posting a career-low 3.85 ERA and collecting 10 wins.

After missing all of 2001 because of Tommy John surgery, he returned to being a key member of the Pirates’ rotation for a few more years, albeit with a lesser degree of success, before the club traded him to the New York Mets in the middle of 2004.

Benson played until 2010 with the Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks. He finished his MLB career with a 70-75 record and 4.42 ERA in 206 games.

Bryan Bullington: Sept. 18, 2005

Bullington’s lackluster MLB debut promptly stoked fears that the Pirates might have swung and missed when they selected him atop the 2002 MLB Draft.

A late-season callup in 2005, with the Pirates going on to finish 67-95, Bullington debuted Sept. 18, coming out of the bullpen in relief of Oliver Perez against the Cincinnati Reds.

Bullington pitched 1 1/3 innings, allowing two earned runs with a walk and strikeout.

His first outing of the year would also prove to be his last, as Bullington didn’t pitch again in 2005.

About a month later, he underwent shoulder surgery that sidelined him for the entire 2006 campaign.

Following his debut: Bullington recovered from surgery in 2006 and briefly appeared with the Pirates late in the 2007 season before ultimately being designated for assignment in 2008.

From 2008-10, he appeared in 20 big-league games, bouncing around to the Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals. He enjoyed a more successful career from 2011-15 in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, where he was an All-Star in 2011.

“Bryan was a great player, great athlete, but some guys just don’t hit and he, unfortunately, didn’t hit for us in the big leagues,” Trdinich said.

Jeff King: June 2, 1989

King was the Pirates’ first No. 1 overall pick.

Originally chosen by the Cubs out of high school late in the 1983 MLB draft, King elected to attend the University of Arkansas. After graduating, he was picked atop the 1986 draft by the Pirates, who finished 57-104 the year prior in Chuck Tanner’s final season as skipper.

After parts of four seasons navigating their farm system, King was called up in the summer of 1989, with the club facing the New York Mets, who started four-time All-Star and Cy Young winner Dwight Gooden on June 2.

Gooden dueled the Pirates’ John Smiley that night, with the score tied 1-1 after nine innings.

After a scoreless 10th, King made his debut, pinch-hitting for Benny Distefano to lead off the top of the 11th.

Facing New York reliever Rick Aguilera, King quickly got in an 0-2 hole, but on the third pitch from Aguilera, hit a double just over third baseman Howard Johnson’s head.

King came home to score on a Glenn Wilson single, but the Pirates ultimately lost 3-2 when Randy Kramer gave up a game-winning, two-run homer in the bottom of the 11th to Dave Magadan.

Following his debut: King became an important piece for the Pirates, who were on the rise in the NL East and won three straight division titles from 1990-92, falling in the NLCS in each year.

King had several seasons with the Pirates derailed because of injuries.

He was a versatile defender, seeing action at every infield position while primarily playing third base.

King played in Pittsburgh through 1996, and in his final year with the Pirates, he showed a notable uptick in power, hitting .271 with 30 home runs and 111 RBIs.

Later with the Kansas City Royals, King had two solid seasons in 1997 and 1998, averaging 26 homers and 103 RBIs.

He retired early into the 1999 season while playing with the Royals.