Pirates' Paul Skenes keeps getting better with every start 

When you find yourself on a short list with guys named "Ferdie" and "Rube," you know you are doing something that has not been done in a long, long time. 

(For the record, Ferdie Schnupp and Rube Foster both compiled their numbers in the early 1910s, right in the height of the deadball era.)

Back on April 8, in his third start of the season, Skenes had the worst start of his pro career when he allowed five earned runs in six innings.

In his 11 starts since then, he has allowed just 12 earned runs total and has a 1.51 ERA over that stretch. 

More recently, in his past six starts, he has allowed just four earned runs (total) and has not allowed more than one in any of those individual starts. He has a 0.86 ERA in those starts. Five of those starts have been against playoff teams from a year ago (Philadelphia twice, New York Mets, and Houston as the playoff teams, as well as one start against Arizona). 

So it is not like he is cruising against sub-par teams. He is doing this against some of the best teams in baseball. 

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Skenes so far in 2025 is that he is not only dominating, but he is also doing so efficiently. If there was one knock on him during his rookie season, it was that he had a tendency to rack up high pitch counts that prevented him from pitching deeper into some games. He has not only improved that so far this season, after Sunday's start, he is averaging 6.5 innings per start, tying him for the Major League lead (with Houston's Framber Valdez) and putting him on top of the National League. 

The only thing Skenes is missing is more wins. 

Despite his dominance, he has just four wins this season (he had a no-decision on Sunday), while the Pirates are only 6-8 in his starts overall. It is a testament to how bad the Pirates offense has been in his starts, and how bad the offense has been overall. It has not only wasted what could be a Cy Young-worthy season from Skenes but also a strong season from their starting rotation as a whole. Between Skenes, Mitch Keller, Andrew Heaney and Bailey Falter, the Pirates had had one of the better and most productive starting rotations in the league. They are still in only 26-40 and have one of the worst records in baseball. 

They have the pitching, including one of the best pitchers in baseball. They just need some offense to complement it.