Pirates' Paul Skenes Falls Short of NL Cy Young
Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes' bid to become the second pitcher in MLB history to win the National League Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award fell short.
Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale won the NL Cy Young Award, for the first time in his career. Sale won the pitching triple crown in the NL, leading the lead in wins and strikeouts while boasting the lowest ERA. Sale went 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA over 29 starts and struck out 225 batters in his first season with the Braves.
Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler was the other finalist alongside Skenes and Sale. Wheeler was 16-7 with a 2.57 ERA over 32 starts and struck out 224 batters.
Had Skenes won, he would have joined the late great Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Fernando Valenzuela as the second pitcher in MLB history to win the NL Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award. The Dodgers left-hander won both awards in 1981.
Doug Drabek was the last Pirates pitcher to win the NL Cy Young Award, earning the award in 1992.
Skenes was the first pitcher in Pirates history to win the Rookie of the Year and the second player to accomplish the feat, joining outfielder Jason Bay in 2004. Skenes was also the first pitcher since Miami Marlins right-hander Jose Fernandez in 2013 to finish in the top three for both awards.
The Pirates ace turned in one of the best seasons by a pitcher in MLB history, let alone for a rookie. He went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts and set a franchise record for a rookie with 170 strikeouts over 133 innings pitched. The hard-throwing right-hander was also the first pitcher in MLB history to have an ERA below 2.20 and 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.
Skenes was also the first rookie pitcher to start an All-Star game since Dodgers right-hander Hideo Nomo in 1995.
