Pirates Star Draws Comparisons To Hall of Fame Pitcher
Just 23 starts into his MLB career, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes is already drawing comparisons to some of baseball's all-time great pitchers.
MLB Network analyst Brian Kenny and former left-handed pitcher Al Leiter broke down Skenes after he was ranked No. 4 by MLB Network in its top 10 pitchers heading into the 2025 season. Along with noting what has allowed the Pirates star to already establish himself as one of baseball's elite pitchers, Kenny and Leiter compared him to Hall of Fame right-handed pitcher Tom Seaver.
"When I see him, I'm thinking, wow, [this is] Tom Seaver level," Kenny said. "This looks like the complete package. We thought we would never see the likes of this again [and] here he is."
Leiter and Kenny each ranked Skenes No. 1 on their list of best pitchers heading into the 2025 season.
Seaver was a three-time Cy Young Award winner, 12-time All-Star and won the ERA title three times. Seaver also won the National League Rookie of the Year and is one of seven pitchers to win the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award. Seaver won 311 games and had a 2.86 ERA over his 20 year career.
While there's no questioning that Skenes has a long way to go before he's anywhere near the pitcher Seaver was, his rookie season was as good of a start anyone could hope for. He went on to win the NL Rookie of the Year and finished third in the NL Cy Young Award vote.
Skenes 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.
With the start Skenes had to his career and limitless potential, Leiter believes the Pittsburgh's ace will have more than just the Rookie of the Year award when he calls it a career.
"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."