Pirates' Paul Skenes Named NL Rookie of Year Finalist
Pittsburgh Pirates sensation Paul Skenes was named a finalist for the Baseball Writers Association of America National League Rookie of the Year award.
The news was announced on Monday on MLB Network. Skenes is a finalist alongside San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio. The winner of the award will be announced on MLB Network on Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. ET.
Should Skenes win the award, he'd be the first Pirates pitcher to win it in franchise history and the first player since outfielder Jason Bay won the award in 2004. If Merrill were to win, he'd be the first Padres player since catcher Benito Santiago in 1987, and Chourio would be the first for the Brewers since reliever Devin Williams won it in 2020 and the first position player since Ryan Braun in 2007. Williams was also the last pitcher to earn the accolade.
Jacob deGrom was the last starting pitcher to win the award in the National League in 2014 when he was on the New York Mets.
Skenes had one of the greatest rookie seasons in MLB history, going 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts and he struck out a Pirates rookie-record 170 batters over 133 innings pitched. Had the first overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft began the season with Pittsburgh rather than starting in Triple-A Indianapolis before making his MLB Debut on May 11, one could make a strong argument he could also be in the running to win the National League Cy Young Award.
Skenes' inaugural season in the big leagues was historic on multiple fronts. He was the first rookie to start an All-Star game since Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Hideo Nomo in 1995 and the first pitcher in MLB history to have an ERA below 2.20 and over 150 strikeouts in their first 21 games. Skenes was also the second player to have an ERA below 2.00 through their first 22 appearances since 1913.
Skenes has been named the NL Rookie of the Year by Baseball America and Baseball Digest.
