Pirates Star Named Top Five Pitcher in MLB
It took all of 23 starts for Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes to be ranked among baseball's elite starting pitchers.
MLB Network ranked the top 10 starting pitchers in baseball heading into the 2025 season and Skenes landed at No. 4. He only trailed Zack Wheeler (Philadelphia Phillies), 2024 American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal (Detroit Tigers) and 2024 National League Cy Young winner Chris Sale (Atlanta Braves). Skenes 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).
Former left-handed pitcher Al Leiter and MLB Network analyst Brian Kenny each had Skenes as No. 1 in their individual rankings.
"It was Skenes and Skubal at the very top battling it out," Kenny said to Leiter. "But Skenes is so overwhelming. I'm with you."
Skenes delivered one of the greatest first seasons by a starting pitcher in MLB history en route to winning 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.
Skenes was also the first rookie pitcher to start an All-Star game since Los Angeles Dodgers right-handed pitcher Hideo Nomo in 1995.
On the heels of his historic first season, Skenes will now be one of the favorites to win the NL Cy Young Award in 2025. If Pittsburgh's ace can accomplish that feat, he'd be just the eighth pitcher in MLB history to win the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award in their career. Dwight Gooden is the only pitcher to win both awards in his first two seasons.
Skenes would be the first Pirates pitcher to win the Cy Young Award since Doug Drabek in 1992.