Pirates' Paul Skenes Predicted To Win NL Rookie of the Year
Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes has a chance to make franchise history as a finalist for the National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award.
First up for Skenes is the NL Rookie of the Year, which will be announced on Monday at 6 p.m. ET on MLB Network. San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio are the other two finalists for the award.
Bleacher Report had four of its writers predict the NL Rookie of the Year and Skenes swept the award. Joel Reuter also noted that had Skenes been with the Pirates at the beginning of the 2024 season rather than making his debut on May 11, he could have had a better shot at winning the Cy Young as well and being the second pitcher to win both awards, joining the late great Los Angeles Dodgers ace Fernando Valenzuela, who accomplished the feat in 1981.
"Skenes was the NL starter in the All-Star Game, he was pulled from a no-hitter not once, but twice, and he did not allow more than six hits or four earned runs in any of his 23 starts," Reuter writes. "If he had been on the Opening Day roster, there's a good chance he would have joined Fernando Valenzuela as the second rookie in MLB history to win Cy Young honors."
Bleacher Report had Chris Sale sweep the vote for NL Cy Young.
Skenes was 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA over 23 starts and set a Pirates rookie record with 170 strikeouts over 133 innings pitched. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft was 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.
In his 23 starts, Skenes had six outings where he pitched at least five innings and allowed no runs. He also had two starts in which he exited without allowing a single hit.
Skenes was also the first rookie to start in an All-Star game since Dodgers pitcher Hideo Nomo in 1995.
