Bryce Harper offers high praise of Pirates star Paul Skenes

Pittsburgh Pirates ace right-hander Paul Skenes has been arguably the best pitcher in baseball throughout his young career. The young phenom has the attention of one of Major League Baseball's veteran stars.

Skenes' preparation, routine and work ethic haven't gone unnoticed by Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper, who knows a thing or two about what it takes to be a star in Major League Baseball. Harper has been one of the faces of the sport ever since he first appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 2009 at 16 years old.  

"There hasn't been anything quite like [him]...His whole routine, from the way he starts it in the weight room, to the bullpen, to the mound — everything is very precise...He's been successful at it. I haven't really seen anything like it," Harper said to NBC Sports Philadelphia's Cole Weintraub. 

The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, Skenes's abilities have him threatening to win the award back-to-back. The last National League pitcher to win back-to-back Cy Young Awards was right-hander Jacob deGrom, who did so with the New York Mets in 2018 and 2019. 

Paul Skenes has a strong chance to win another Cy Young Award

In 10 starts -- Skenes makes his 11th start on Sunday, May 17 against Harper and the Phillies -- Skenes is 6-2 with a 1.94 ERA (third in the National League) and has shaken off the concerns after his blowup start on Opening Day versus the Mets. Since allowing five earned runs in 0.2 innings on March 26, Skenes has had a tremendous April (4-1 with a 1.62 ERA), which has led to an even better May (2-0 and has not allowed an earned run). 

Skenes has also done well to limit the walks, as he has not issued a free pass in 16 innings, although he has hit a couple of batters. The two-time All-Star had one coming into his start against the Phillies and hit right fielder Adolis Garcia with a pitch in the top of the second inning. 

Despite positioning himself well as a favorite to win the Cy Young again, Skenes has some stiff competition. Mainly, Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sanchez, who silenced Skenes's Pirates in a 6-0 complete game shutout on Saturday afternoon. 

Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale (6-3, 1.96 ERA) and Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani (3-2, 0.82 ERA) are also mounting strong cases to win the Cy Young.