Pirates' Paul Skenes Picks Cy Young Finalist Over ROY
Even with falling short of winning the National League Cy Young Award, the weight of being a finalist for the accolade isn't lost upon Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes.
Skenes won the NL Rookie of the Year and finished in third place for the NL Cy Young Award, trailing Atlanta Braves left-handed pitcher Chris Sale, who won the award, and Philadelphia Phillies right-handed pitcher Zack Wheeler, who finished in second place. Skenes received 13 third-place votes and one second-place vote. Sale received 26 first-place votes to win the award for the first time in his career.
Despite being the Pirates' first pitcher to win Rookie of the Year and just the second player in franchise history alongside outfielder Jason Bay in 2004, being a finalist for the Cy Young held more weight for Skenes because of the two pitchers he was competing with for the award.
"Truthfully, I think being a finalist for the Cy Young Award is a little more meaningful than Rookie of the Year -- because it’s all the pitchers in the league," Skenes told MLB.com's Jim Lachimia. "It’s a tremendous honor to be up there with Sale and Wheeler. Obviously, they compete at a very high level and get a ton of strikeouts. But I think the biggest thing is their consistency every single outing. That’s something I strive for, and something they’re very good at."
Had Skenes begun the 2024 season with Pittsburgh, he would have had a chance to be the second pitcher in MLB history to win the Cy Young award and Rookie of the Year in the same season. Regardless, Sale won the pitching triple crown while Wheeler turned in another excellent season for Philadelphia and Skenes had a historic rookie season.
The Pirates' ace was the first rookie pitcher to start an All-Star game since Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hideo Nomo in 1995. Skenes 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts and he set a Pirates rookie record with 170 strikeouts over 133 innings pitched.
He 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.
With how good Skenes' first season was, it may not be long before he earns his first Cy Young Award.
