Analyst Predicts Pirates Star Will Be 'Perennial Cy Young Winner'
After one of the greatest rookie seasons by a pitcher in MLB history, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes is already viewed as one of baseball's best.
But exactly how good can he be? Former pitcher and current MLB Network analyst Al Leiter predicted Skenes will have multiple awards that solidify him as the best pitcher in baseball by the time his career is all said and done. Leiter pitched 19 years in the big leagues for the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Miami Marlins and New York Mets.
"This guy is going to be a perennial Cy Young Award winner," Leiter said. "He has the attitude, he's got the disposition, the mound presence, and, of course, the stuff."
If Skenes can win the National League Cy Young award, he'd be the third pitcher in Pirates history to do so and be the first since Doug Drabek in 1992.
Skenes was ranked No. 4 on MLB Network's list of the best pitchers heading into the 2025 season. He was only behind Zack Wheeler (Philadelphia Phillies), 2024 American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal (Detroit Tigers) and 2024 NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale (Atlanta Braves). Pittsburgh's ace was ranked ahead of some of baseball's best pitchers over recent years like Gerrit Cole (New York Yankees), Corbin Burnes (Arizona Diamondbacks) and Blake Snell (Los Angeles Dodgers).
Leiter and Brian Kenny each had Skenes as their No. 1 pitcher heading into next season.
Skenes won the NL Rookie of the Year and was third in NL Cy Young award voting. He went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts and set a Pirates franchise record for a rookie with 170 strikeouts over 133 innings pitched. Skenes was also the first pitcher in MLB history to have an ERA below 2.20, over 150 strikeouts in their first 21 games and the second pitcher since 1913 to have an ERA below 2.00 through their first 22 appearances.
The Pirates star was also the first rookie pitcher to start an All-Star game since Los Angeles Dodgers right-handed pitcher Hideo Nomo in 1995.
In 23 starts, Skenes pitched at least six innings and allowed two runs or fewer 15 times. Among those 15 starts, he struck out at least eight batters in 10 of them. The hard-throwing right-hander also had two instances when he was pulled from the game after pitching a no-hitter through six innings.