At 12:35pm ET, my Early Riser play is on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Yesterday was a difficult defeat for the Pirates but there won't be any gloomy faces at the ballpark this afternoon. That's because rookie sensation Paul Skenes is on the mound. There's a ton of hype surrounding Skenes but he's absolutely been living up to it.

Last game, Skenes just struck out 11 Cubs, each of the first 7, with a no-hitter through 6 innings. "It's a big boy throwing a heavy baseball," Chicago outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong said. "He does a really good job with mixing and everything. But it's tough to hit anybody that throws 100-plus with two to three really good secondary pitches and a sinker that moves like a changeup at 95."

Skenes will keep on turning heads and Pirate fans will keep on smiling. Play on Pittsburgh