Paul Skenes was touted as the greatest pitching prospect of his generation even before the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft. In less than two years since being drafted, Skenes has more than lived up to the hype after winning the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year.
Pirates Skipper Lauds Unflappable Personality of Paul Skenes
On Wednesday, the Pirates notched a 10-1 victory against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the final clash of a four-game series at Chase Field. It was their sixth win in the past nine games after making a managerial change earlier in the month.
Skenes started on the mound for the Pirates on the eve of his 23rd birthday. He made 96 pitches over 6.2 scoreless innings, allowing just four base hits with no walks while punching out seven D-backs hitters.
We are now 35 starts into Paul Skenes’ MLB career. His stats:
208.1 IP
2.03 ERA
15-8 W-L
247 K’s
0.94 WHIP
.194 BAA
6.6 fWARAbsolutely generational. pic.twitter.com/0L47TKYHX2
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) May 28, 2025
“Execution was good. Got ahead of guys. I was able to put them away and make pitches when I needed to,” Skenes told reporters after the game. “We’ve grown as a team. I don’t think it’s necessarily because everybody has changed what they’re doing.”
“We’re big leaguers. We’re here for a reason. That’s why we’ve gotten to this level. To be honest, now it’s showing up on the field a little bit more. Execution’s a little better,” he added. “I don’t know if anybody has stepped up that hadn’t stepped up before.”
The Pirates lineup resumed its hot run after overturning a six-run deficit against the D-backs the previous night. Oneil Cruz produced three RBIs in the game, including a two-run homer in the top of the eighth inning. Skenes made sure to keep that momentum going on Wednesday with a stellar outing.
“I think the one thing we see is he doesn’t change,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “He continues to do the same thing out there, whether he’s not getting the support or, like today, he did.”
Paul Skenes, 99mph Four Seam Fastball and 98mph Sinker, Overlay.
Both Painted. Not fair. pic.twitter.com/EfVKFsEhKo
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 28, 2025
Skenes landed over 70% of his pitches for strikes with his fastball velocity averaging 98.2 mph. He produced multiple whiffs from the opposing batters on all his pitches except the curveball, which he threw on three occasions.
“Paul Skenes, they don’t come around ever,” Kelly said. “I think there are a few pitchers like that. When I was younger, I got to play with [Justin] Verlander and [Max] Scherzer, and that’s what you see in Paul, that type of guy.”
“If he can continue that, continue to develop, continue to grow. He’s a pitcher, not a thrower. Just the way he works, everything. He’s definitely a guy you want to build around.”
So far, Skenes has posted 75.1 innings over his 12 starts and has a 2.15 ERA with 77 strikeouts. Meanwhile, his career ERA of 2.03 is the lowest among any MLB pitcher with over 200 innings since the beginning of the live-ball era in 1920.