Will Pirates' Pitching Star Follow Former Bruin's Footsteps?

The Pittsburgh Pirates possess one of the best young pitchers in the MLB in Paul Skenes, but the Pirates are struggling. The last star pitcher the Pirates had was former UCLA Bruin Gerrit Cole, and he made his way out of Pittsburgh.

May 23, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) delivers a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

A lot of buzz has gone around the Major League Baseball world regarding their star starting pitcher, Paul Skenes. Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates' first overall draft pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, has been one of the best pitchers since his debut. However, the franchise he plays with has not been as good.

In his debut season, Skenes won the Rookie of the Year Award, got an All-Star nod, finished third in CY Young Award voting and did so all at the age of 22. While Skenes is Pittsburgh's star pitcher, one former UCLA Bruin in the form of Gerrit Cole had a similar beginning to Skenes.

The UCLA product was also a first-round draft pick for the Pirates franchise and also debuted at the age of 22. The Pirates weren't successful when Cole began to thrive, eventually leading to his trade out of Pittsburgh to the Houston Astros. If Skenes is following suit, he might be next.

The Pirates haven't had a strong start to their campaign, so much so that speculation started to float around the league surrounding what the Pirates should do with Skenes. Many have said to trade him to get valuable pieces in return, and restart the rebuild, much like they did with Cole. But the franchise has other plans.

When asked about a potential Skenes trade, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington was quick to shoot it down.

"No, it's not part of the conversation at all," Cherington said on Wednesday. "We've just got to get better," Cherington said. "Let’s play better baseball, and that’s going to lead to winning more games. Then, let’s wake up and see where that takes us when we get to July.

"We want guys from Triple-A to pound the door down," Cherington said. "That would be good. I still think that can happen this year. We want more of it over time. ... Everybody knows we’ve got to score more runs. That’s not going to happen just by saying it and hoping for it. You’ve got to do the work to do it."

Since Cole left the Pirates, he's been in the Top 10 in CY Young voting, bringing home the award in 2023, and has been a major part in playoff runs for both the Astros and his current team, the New York Yankees.

While the Pirates didn't want to trade Cole, they ended up having to because of the state of their franchise. Could Skenes be next?

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