Pirates' Paul Skenes Would Join Elite Company With Cy Young Award

Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes was a finalist for the National League Cy Young Award as a rookie.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds in the third inning at Great American Ball Park.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds in the third inning at Great American Ball Park. / Katie Stratman-Imagn Images
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Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes already deliverered one of the best first seasons in MLB history en route to winning the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year Award.

What could the Pirates star have in store for an encore in 2025?

Skenes performed above and beyond the lofty expectations placed upon him when he was drafted with the first overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. 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.

Skenes was also the first rookie pitcher to start an All-Star game since Los Angeles Dodgers right-handed pitcher Hideo Nomo in 1995.

Along with winning the NL Rookie of the Year, he finished third in the NL Cy Young vote, making him just the fifth pitcher to finish in the top three in voting for both awards. On the heels of his stellar rookie year, Skenes will be one of the favorites to win the NL Cy Young Award in 2025. In MLB history, only seven pitchers have won both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award.

Dwight Gooden, Don Newcombe, Tom Seaver, Rick Sutcliffe, Fernando Valenzuela, San Francisco Giants pitcher Justin Verlander and Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom are the seven pitchers to accomplish the feat. Among those seven, Gooden is the only pitcher to win the Rookie of the Year and then win the Cy Young Award in his second season. Seaver is the only Hall of Famer in the group, though, Verlander will find his way into Cooperstown five years after he retires.

Verlander, deGrom and Seaver each won the Cy Young Award multiple times.

If Skenes can build on a historic rookie season, he'll be in the thick of the NL Cy Young Race and would be the first Pirates pitcher to win the award since Doug Drabek in 1992. With his first full season on the horizon, Skenes could further cement himself as one of baseball's elite pitchers for years to come if he can one-up one of the greatest rookie seasons in baseball history.

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