Pirates Set Embarrassing Stat in Paul Skenes' Starts

The Pirates had scored less than four runs in 16 of his first 20 starts and he went almost two months without a win, before finishing the season 6-2 in his final 12 starts to end up with a .500 record.

Skenes had some great performances, including his first complete game vs. the Philadelphia Phillies on May 18, where he gave up just one run over eight innings, but took a loss in the 1-0 defeat at Citizens Bank Park.

He became the first pitcher in MLB history to finish with 200+ strikeouts and a sub-2.00 ERA and still not have a winning record in a season, since ERA became a stat in 1913.

Pirates Set Embarrassing Stat in Skenes Starts

Jayson Stark of The Athletic wrote about Skenes, naming him "MLB’s Strange But True Player of the Year" for 2025.

Stark looked at how the Pirates failed supporting Skenes in historical fashion, giving him that 10-10 record for 2025.

He found out that since the 1969 season, when MLB lowered the mound to its current height, Skenes was the 18th pitcher to finish a season with a sub-2.00 ERA, a sub-1.00 WHIP and at least 180 innings pitched.

The other 17 pitchers had an average record of 19-7, but Skenes had just a 10-10 record.

Stark also looked at the 33 starters since 1913 (ERA stat begins) that had made 30 starts and posted a sub-2.00 ERA. Only two pitchers outside of Skenes were close to .500 in Sam McDowell in 1968 (15-14, 1.81) and Jacob deGrom in 2018 (10-9, 1.70).

All the other pitchers had a .600 winning percentage or better and 19 of them won 70% of their starts or more.

Skenes has the lowest ERA with 55 starts in the live-ball era (since 1920) at 1.96 and is the only pitcher below a 2.00 ERA.

Stark looked at what Skenes' record would've been if he had average run support throughout those 55 starts and discovered that it would be an incredible 41-3, instead of his 21-13 career record.

20 more wins in his career and 10 losses less would've made Skenes look unbeatable and has only had five starts where he's given up four runs or more.

Stark reported that in the 34 starts Skenes hasn't gotten a win, he's put up a 2.66 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 10.3 K/9.

He compared that statline to Johan Santana's statline when he won American League Cy Young Award in 2004 with a 2.61 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and a 10.5 K/9. Santana went 20-6 in that season, while Skenes had a 0-13 record.

Skenes is also the only starter with a career sub-3.00 ERA in their non-wins in that many starts in MLB history. Only DeGrom had an ERA lower than 3.80, posting a 3.62 ERA in his non-wins.

Is There Any Solution to This for the Pirates?

The Pirates were one of the worst hitting teams in baseball last season, which wasted a fantastic season from not just Skenes, but the pitching staff as a whole.

Pittsburgh posted the lowest slugging percentage (.350) and OPS (.655), the third lowest batting average (.231) and the eighth lowest on-base percentage (.305).

The Pirates scored the least runs (583) and drove in the least RBIs (561), both lower than the 43-119 Colorado Rockies. They also hit the least home runs (117), 31 home runs less than then second-lowest team in the St. Louis Cardinals at 148 home runs, and had the seventh most strikeouts (1,422).

Pittsburgh has addressed some of these issues this offseason, as they've added to their lineup.

The Pirates signed Ryan O'Hearn to a two-year, $29 million contract, their first multi-year free agent signing since 2016 and first multi-year free agent position player signing since 2015.

Pittsburgh also swung trades for power-hitting second baseman Brandon Lowe of the Tampa Bay Rays, who hit 31 home runs last season, and top 100 prospect in outfielder Jhostynxon García from the Boston Red Sox, who has power and could serve as an important bat for years to come.

The Pirates are also reportedly still looking for another bat this offseason, with Japanese star slugger Kazuma Okamoto an option for them.

It's looking like the Pirates might finally have an average lineup and if so, Skenes will surely benefit in 2026.