Paul Skenes is the best pitcher in Major League Baseball. The numbers prove it.
In nearly two months, the most prized pitching award in the sport will reveal it, too.
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ star starter is the favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award after finishing as a finalist during his rookie campaign.
Skenes shutout the Colorado Rockies on Sunday with seven scoreless innings, dazzling the fans at PNC Park.
He allowed a mere three hits and struck out seven to earn his eighth win, a number that feels
like it should be double the total given his overall success.
Skenes didn’t walk a batter. His ERA sits at 2.07 through 27 starts, the lowest in the sport. It’s the lowest in the NL by 40 points. His 0.94 WHIP is tops in the league with Philadelphia Phillies ace Zach Wheeler.
Is Skenes pondering the Cy Young race in his head?
“Maybe a little but, but it’s the same thing as last year,” Skenes told the media after the win Sunday. “One, the award itself is out of my hands. If it’s up to the voters, it’s out of your hands.”
Skenes won the 2024 NL Rookie of the Year Award with a 1.96 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. He finished third in Cy Young voting and is bound to win it at only 23 years old.
“Two, if you do what you’re supposed to do and take care of it, keep doing the work and pitch well, it’s going to take care of itself, however it should,” Skenes said. “Whether you win it or not. It’s the same thing as Rookie of the Year last year. That’s how I look at it.”
Skenes is second in the NL in innings (161), strikeouts (181), and opponent batting average (.195).
The probability Skenes will win the award increased over the last week when it was revealed that Wheeler is out of the season with venous thoracic outlet syndrome.
It’s a scary situation for Wheeler, dealing with a blood clot that required surgery. He will be recovering for an estimated six to eight months.
“It’s unfortunate for him, obviously for the award,” Skenes said on Sunday. “It’s bad for basketball that he’s not in the game, that he’s not going to be in the postseason this year. It’s unfortunate.”
Wheeler decided not to pitch in the All-Star Game and opted to prepare for the second half. Skenes delivered a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts, making his second consecutive start.
His 8-9 record is a detractor to skeptics, but Toole remains for Skenes to push to, or over .500.
Skenes’ next start is lining up to be at Fenway Park in Boston against the Red Sox on Friday at 7:10 p.m.
