Pirates' Paul Skenes Strengthens Cy Young Case

It's not uncommon for a pitcher to experience a sophomore slump, especially a starter.

The Major League season is a full month longer than the minor league season, and it's not typical that a rookie will start the season on the Opening Day roster. So it's rare that a rookie will experience the full slog of a big league season -- that's usually in their second year. Skenes was called up on May 11, 2024, which means that he was about one month short of a full Major League season.

So it would not have been a surprise to see Skenes take a bit of a step back this season, especially late in the year when the pitches and innings begin to add up. But for Skenes, that added grind has not shown up in the box scores.

"I definitely feel more innings for sure, but not in a good or bad way," said Skenes. "I just feel it."

Skenes has thrown 177 big league innings this year, compared to 133 last season. He likely will come close to the 200 inning mark that is often the indicator of a workhorse starting pitcher.

"I've just been learning over the course of the season. And I'm going to continue to learn with four or five more starts, whatever it is. I'm going to finish the year the strong and hopefully go into the offseason in a good spot," said the Pirates ace.

Skenes, the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year, will likely be going into the off-season with a another piece of hardware for his trophy case. The 23-year-old has been the most consistently dominant pitcher in the National League season, and the numbers show.

Beyond his sterling ERA that is tops in MLB among starters, Skenes also boasts a 0.94 WHIP, tied for first in the NL. His 195 strikeouts are also tied for the most in the NL.

Pirates Manager Don Kelly is certainly banging the drum for Skenes' Cy Young candidacy.

"Hopefully, it's this year," said Kelly when asked before the game about Skenes' chances to win the award. "Whether it's this year or not, he's a Cy-worthy pitcher. It would mean a lot to to Paul and for the organization for him to win that."

And this was before Skenes shut down the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.

"If they're not the best top three [in the lineup] in the league then I don't know who is," said Skenes. "I mean, that's why we play the game. They call it the show for a reason."