PITTSBURGH — To say the last few years have been a whirlwind for the Skenes family would be an understatement.

This weekend, Craig and Karen will travel to the North Shore to see their 21-year-old son, Paul, make his MLB debut. Rated baseball's top pitching prospect, Paul Skenes' first start has been the talk of the baseball community since the start of the season.

But for his parents, it's simply another notable milestone in a recent journey.

Two years ago, Skenes transferred from Air Force to LSU, where he went from being a hidden two-way talent to the most prized collegiate arm in over a decade. And now, he's managed to reach the game's highest level in near-record time.

Skenes will make the quickest debut by a top pick in 35 years.

In 1989, Orioles right-hander Ben McDonald, another LSU product, made it to the big leagues in the same year he was selected first overall. Skenes' ascent to the show has since been the fastest among the last 35 top picks.

The Pirates' No. 1 prospect will have required just 307 days since they selected him to toe the rubber in an MLB park, 57 fewer than Stephen Strasburg needed 14 years ago with the Nationals.

"There's a lot of surprise that it's happened so quickly," Craig said. "But the end result, I don't think we're too surprised about, especially what he's done over the past couple of years.

"If you would have asked me this 10 years ago, yeah, this would be a huge surprise."

Skenes' dedication to constantly improving deserves ample credit for his rise through the minors, tallying just 34 innings in 12 starts within the Pirates farm system. His head coach at LSU, Jay Johnson, watched Skenes dominate the competition during fall practices in 2022 and immediately picked up on his "insane" talent.

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