Pirates Would Make Huge Mistake Shutting Down Paul Skenes
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PITTSBURGH — It's been a rough year for Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes, and one that he's struggled in throughout.
Skenes faltered again in his latest start vs. the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park, giving up five runs in the first two innings and lasting just 4.2 innings, with eight hits and three walks allowed.
The answer for Skenes, some think, is that the Pirates should shut him down for the rest of the season in hopes that it will help him for 2027.
Skenes may benefit from this, but he is much better off going out there for the Pirates and figuring it out on the mound rather than staying in the dugout.
Rest Doesn't Necessarily Equal Success
This can go one of two ways, but the Pirates shutting Skenes down for 2026 doesn't mean that he will become a Cy Young candidate in 2027.
Rest is important for a pitcher, especially for someone as young as Skenes, who is just 24 years old, despite the incredible success he's had in his career.
The Pirates did give Skenes the longest break of his MLB career when they moved his start back eight days instead of the normal five days after he had issues with his velocity vs. the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park on Aug. 11.
Skenes then threw just 4.1 innings vs. the Detroit Tigers at PNC Park on Aug. 19, improving his velocity but still dealing with command issues, with four hits, four walks and three runs allowed.
He improved in his next start vs. the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Aug. 25, throwing six scoreless innings and allowing just three hits, doing so on regular rest.
The Pirates shutting Skenes down could benefit him in terms of rest, as he can take time to work on what he needs to, but it could also get him out of his routine and stunt his growth.
Skenes said after that start vs. the Tigers that he, "probably felt too fresh," but that he was hopeful it would help him have a stronger finish to the end of the season.
"Yeah. Can't hurt," Skenes said. "Yeah I mean obviously you want it to be perfect. I think it's good just having my body in a really good spot (for) the last month or so of the regular season. Hopefully a substantial number of innings after that."
Skenes Isn't Dealing With Injury
When pitchers go on a downturn like Skenes has this season, there are always concerns that there is an injury or one coming.
The Pirates have remained adamant that Skenes is healthy, and Skenes himself has said many times that he feels good and is ready to pitch.
Pittsburgh, like all other MLB teams, is always cautious about the health of its pitchers, even to a fault at times, but concern for the long-term future of its pitchers is always important.
Skenes is on a pitch count, 85-90 at this point, a little higher than fellow Pirates pitcher Jared Jones (80-85 and five innings), who returned three months ago after a year of rehab from his internal brace surgery on his right elbow.
The Pirates ace will always look to stay on the mound and finish the best way he can, but he is also cognizant of making sure he stays healthy and ready for the physical demands of a full major league season.
“Yeah, I feel good. I think I could’ve gone longer," Skenes said on his last start vs. the Giants. "I don’t know how many pitches I threw today, but I know they’re trying to watch volume a little bit, so I’m not pushing back too much.”
Skenes Must Work Through Mechanical Issues
Shutting down Skenes doesn't address the biggest issue with his game currently, and it's purely mechanical.
It's not easy staying healthy as a major league pitcher and almost all pitchers undergo a serious surgery, Tommy John or internal brace, which forces them out for a year to 18 months.
Skenes is figuring out how he can stay healthy throughout his career, so he purposefully lowered his four-seam fastball velocity.
He's gone from averaging around 98 mph to a little less than 97 mph, which has had some issues, making it less effective than it has been.
This was incredibly apparent vs. the Marlins, when it dropped to below 96 mph, and even when he ramped it back up recently, the Giants got a number of easy hits off the fastball too.
Skenes has been less deceptive with his throwing motion than in the past two years and it makes his pitches much easier to hit, especially if he leaves them out over the plate.
He's also had issues with his offspeed too, lacking the efficiency he had before, especially in his changeup.
Skenes eventually improved against the Giants, but he noticed that he was throwing more arm-side with all of his pitches, which he was frustrated with.
The Pirates must let Skenes figure out these mechanical issues and he has about four starts remaining to do this.
Skenes, with how successful he was the first two seasons, needs the chance to work through these issues and not shy away from them.
If he can work through this problems and find out what's not working, it will set him up much better for success in 2027 and beyond.
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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.