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Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Paul Skenes took another step closer to the big leagues Tuesday night. Skenes, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, went six innings for the first time as a professional, and threw a career-high 75 pitches. He allowed four hits and a walk, did not allow a run, and struck out seven in his Triple-A start. Skenes has a 0.39 ERA in 23 innings in 2024. Here are Skenes' seven strikeouts Tuesday night: The Pirates have handled Skenes very carefully this season, perhaps excessively so. He did not throw more than 3 1/3 innings in any of his first four starts. Last time out he got to 4 1/3 innings, and Tuesday night Skenes reached six innings. Earlier this month Skenes told our Matt Snyder he is, "A little bit (antsy about reaching MLB), but it just comes down to executing." The schedule seems to suggest a call up could be on the horizon. Skenes could start Sunday on normal rest for the first time as a professional -- Monday is a universal off-day in the minors -- then join the Pirates next weekend. Given how carefully they have handled him, Pittsburgh presumably wants Skenes to start on normal rest for the first time in the minors, not in MLB. To be clear, that is only my speculation. I'm merely counting days and looking at how the club may handle Skenes for his first start on normal rest. Clearly though, the training wheels are beginning to come off. Skenes is building up his innings load and his pitch count. There's not much left to learn in Triple-A. Skenes has been a man among boys in the minors. Our R.J. Anderson ranked Skenes the 10th-best prospect in baseball coming into 2024, and the best pitching prospect. Here's his write-up: Skenes went No. 1 in July's draft on the basis of his power arsenal and his proximity to the majors. His fastball clocked in around 98 mph during a late-season appearance in the Florida State League, and his slider has proven to be an effective chase offering. Turns out he didn't strike out nearly 48% of the batters he faced during SEC play by accident. Even so, Skenes was more polarizing in scouting circles than the above information indicates. His fastball's shape has "dead zone" properties, a fancy way of saying it's easier to track because of a similar amount of vertical and horizontal movement. That blemish won't keep Skenes from having a big-league career -- Nathan Eovaldi and Hunter Greene both have "dead zone" fastballs -- but it may cause his fastball to be less effective than it should be based on pure velocity. Skenes threw 122 2/3 innings last spring while helping LSU win the national title. He completed at least six innings in 17 of his 19 college starts last year, and at least seven innings seven times. The Pirates had Skenes throw only 6 2/3 innings after the draft before shutting him down. The Pirates enter play Tuesday with a 14-16 record and a minus-10 run differential. They have lost 11 of their last 14 games. Rookie righty Jared Jones has been one of the most impressive young pitchers in the game this year, however. He and Skenes give Pittsburgh the makings of a power 1-2 punch atop the rotation.