Fastball

Paul Skenes Continues to Shine and Make Baseball History as Rookie Season Nears End

Paul Skenes's growth and development continues to be one of the best stories in baseball in 2024.

Brady Farkas

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) walks off the field after the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Sept 16.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) walks off the field after the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Sept 16. / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
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The Pittsburgh Pirates lost to the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night, but it wasn't the fault of rookie right-hander Paul Skenes.

Though the Pirates lost 4-0, Skenes did his part against the division rivals. The former No. 1 pick in the draft (2023) went 6.0 innings, giving up just one run on four hits. He walked one and struck out seven.

Since making his debut in May, Skenes has become one of the best stories in all of baseball. He's 10-3 with a miniscule 2.07 ERA. He's struck out 158 batters in 126.0 innings. Skenes has made baseball history all season long and did so again on Monday.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com on social media:

most strikeouts in 1st 21 career app (since at least 1901):

1995 Hideo Nomo: 188
1998 Kerry Wood: 185
2002-03 Mark Prior: 166
1984 Dwight Gooden: 165
2024 Paul Skenes: 158

And this one, also from Langs:

lowest ERA in first 21 career app, all starts, since ER official in AL + NL (1913):

1973-74 Steve Rogers: 1.95
2024 Paul Skenes: 2.07

Though the Pirates are 71-79 and destined to miss the playoffs again this year, Skenes's growth and development have been key to their season. He figures to pair with fellow rookie Jared Jones in the rotation for years to come and that gives Pirates fans reasons for future hope.

The Pirates are taking on the Cardinals again on Tuesday night with first pitch coming at 7:45 p.m. ET. Left-hander Bailey Falter will pitch for Pittsburgh against veteran righty Lance Lynn.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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