Pirates' Paul Skenes Placed in Elite Group
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PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes has featured as one of the best players in baseball since his debut and it looks like he'll only get better as his career progresses.
Skenes, as dominant as he has been, isn't the only young star in baseball, with the sport having many top names that have only just made their debut or are still excelling at an early age.
Paul Skenes Placed Amongst Best Young MLB Players
Joel Reuter of the Bleacher Report wrote about every MLB team's best player under 25 years old and, unsurprisingly, picked Skenes as the Pirates' representative.
Skenes has a 21-13 record in 55 starts since making his debut on May 11, 2024, with a 1.96 ERA over 320.2 innings pitched, 386 strikeouts to 74 walks, a .198 opposing batting average and a 0.95 WHIP.
It is even more impressive, after the Pirates took him first overall in the 2023 MLB Draft out of LSU and signed him for a record $9.2 million bonus, taking him less than year to make it up to Pittsburgh.
He had a 11-3 record in 23 starts as a rookie in 2024, while posting a 1.96 ERA in 133.0 innings pitched. He allowed just 29 earned runs, 94 hits, six home runs and 32 walks, while making 170 strikeouts and holding opposing hitting to a .198 batting average. He also had a 11.50 K/9 and a WHIP of 0.95.
Skenes was also the first member of the Pirates to start for the National League in the All-Star Game since Jerry Reuss did it in 1975, 49 years ago. He is also just the fifth rookie to start an All-Star game, with Hideo Nomo of the Los Angeles Dodgers doing so in 1995, en route to winning NL Rookie of the Year.
He won 2024 NL Rookie of the Year, the first Pirates player to do so since outfielder Jason Bay in 2004, while also earning All-MLB First Team honors and finished third in the voting for the NL Cy Young Award.
Paul Skenes Continues Excellent Play in 2025
The 2025 season served as the first full-length MLB campaign for Skenes and he showed that there was absolutely no "sophomore slump."
Skenes had just a 10-10 record in 32 starts with the Pirates, but a 1.97 ERA over 187.2 innings pitched, 216 strikeouts to 42 walks, a .199 opposing batting average and a 0.95 WHIP, along with a 10.36 K/9, a 2.01 BB/9 and a 5.14 K/BB.
He ranked amongst the best pitchers in the MLB, with the lowest ERA, tied for the fourth most strikeouts, the fourth lowest WHIP, the sixth lowest batting average and the 10th most innings pitched, plus the fifth best K/BB, seventh best K/9 and ninth best BB/9.
Skenes also ranked highly in the National League, with the lowest WHIP, the fourth lowest batting average, tied for the second most strikeouts and the fourth most innings pitched, as well as the second best K/BB and both the fifth best K/9 and BB/9.
He started for the NL in the All-Star Game again and became the first pitcher to ever start consecutive All-Star Games in their first two seasons.
Skenes will likely finish the season as the National League Cy Young Award winner, making him the first Pirates pitcher to do so since Doug Drabek did in 1990 and the third overall, with Pirates Hall of Famer Vern Law winning the Cy Young Award, with no league distinction, in 1960.
Paul Skenes Finds Himself Amongst Great Company
While Skenes is in a different tier than almost all of his peers, the MLB has great young talent across all of its teams that makes for an exciting future for baseball, which Reuter noted throughout his article.
The NL Central Division has a few stars younger than 25, including Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio and Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Going to the other side of the country, the NL West Division has the likes of San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages, who will try and help his team win back-to-back World Series.
The American League West Division also has some great hitting talent, with Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz, who hit 36 home runs in 117 games, Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodríguez, who won the 2022 AL Rookie of the Year Award, plus Texas Rangers outfielder Wyatt Langford, who many see as a big-time player in the future.
It is the AL East Division that has some of the better young players in all of baseball, in 2023 AL Rookie of the Year Award winner in Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson, former top prospect in baseball in Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony, Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Trey Yesavage and Tampa Bay Rays third baseman in All-Star Junior Caminero.
The NL East Division has two great hitters in likely NL Rookie of the Year Award winner in 2025 in Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin and Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.