Pirates' Paul Skenes Wins First Rookie of Year Award
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes continues to earn recognition for his efforts during a historic rookie campaign.
On Monday afternoon, Baseball America announced that they have named Skenes their 2024 Rookie of the Year, meaning that the publication recognized him over players from both the National and American League.
Baseball America's Rookie of the Year: Paul Skenes pic.twitter.com/ZbqAKQGOZq
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 30, 2024
BA's Matt Eddy laid out several stats that put Skenes' season into perspective, such as his 1.96 ERA over 23 starts and 133 innings that landed him in elite company.
"Skenes fell about 30 innings short of qualifying for the ERA title, but his 1.96 ERA was the lowest of any pitcher with at least 120 innings this season," Eddy wrote. "In fact, it is one of the lowest ERAs for any pitcher with as many innings during the Wild Card Era.
In the past 30 seasons, 10 different pitchers have a sub-2.00 ERA in a season of 120 innings or more. The list includes Clayton Kershaw (three times) and Pedro Martinez (two), with single appearances from Jake Arrieta, Kevin Brown, Roger Clemens, Jacob deGrom, Zack Greinke, Greg Maddux, Blake Snell and Justin Verlander."
Eddy also pointed out Skenes' strikeout minus walk percentage, which is utilized as a strong predictor for ERA.
"Analysts say strikeout percentage minus walk percentage is the best predictor of ERA," Eddy wrote. "If that’s the case, then Skenes is in great shape for 2025.
His 33.1% strikeout rate and 6.2% walk rate yield a 26.8 K-BB% that stands as the second-best ever for a rookie pitcher with at least 120 innings.
Braves righthander Spencer Strider holds the rookie record with a 29.7 K-BB% mark in 2022. The rest of the top five includes Twins lefthander Francisco Liriano (23.7), Gooden (23.1) and Mets righthander Noah Syndergaard (22.4)."
Among Skenes' other accolades include starting the All-Star game, breaking the Pirates' rookie strikeout record and throwing the most pitches of 100 miles-per-hour or over of any starting pitcher in baseball.
MLB will not announce the winners of the NL and AL Rookie of the Year Awards until November, but Skenes is all but locked in as a finalist.
He found himself in a tight race down the stretch of the regular season with San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill, but it would appear Skenes has the edge and is in good shape now that the year has concluded.
Skenes would become the second player in franchise history to win the award behind Jason Bay (2004).
