BRADENTON, Fla. — That Paul Skenes throws heavy is hardly a secret, as the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander regularly touches triple digits on the radar gun. But the 2023 No. 1 overall pick did something this week at Pirate City that you don’t often see in a friendly game of catch at spring training.

Skenes threw a ball that broke the webbing of Quinn Priester’s glove.

The 6-foot-6 ½, 250-pound Skenes was playing catch with Priester, a 2018 first-rounder, when he threw a ball that Priester caught with his black Rawlings glove but said “felt weird.”

“I knew something in the glove was wrong,” Priester said. “I looked and the ball was wedged halfway through.”

Despite a broken leather lace in the web pocket on Priester’s glove, they continued to play catch. Priester moved his target to the side to protect himself, for fear of the glove giving out completely.

“I was like, ‘All right, over here,’” Priester said. “Just don’t throw it at my face because if the ball goes through my glove, I’m screwed. … That’s not the first glove he’s popped, from what I’ve heard.”

After a few more throws, Skenes suggested they finish.

“I can’t remember the last time I’ve done that,” Skenes said, with a smile. “I was like, ‘We should probably end this. We should probably stop on that one.’”

Skenes said he didn’t know what the protocol was when asked Friday afternoon if he had to replace Priester’s glove. No need, Priester said, as he already had it re-laced. Priester even gave Skenes the lace as a souvenir, which was hanging from a hook in his locker.

“I’ll make a necklace out of it,” Skenes said. “Wear it everywhere.”

Pirates manager Derek Shelton laughed when asked about Skenes, the top pitching prospect in baseball, throwing so hard he popped the web out of Priester’s glove.

“You don’t see it too often,” Shelton said. “This may shock you but Skenes throws hard, so that will happen. I’d bet that’s not the first glove Skenes has broken — and probably won’t be the last.”

Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.