Through just 55 career starts, Paul Skenes is arguably the best right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. The LSU national champion won National League Rookie of the Year honors last season and is the overwhelming favorite to win the National League Cy Young Award this season after putting together a sensational sophomore campaign.
Skenes posted a 1.96 ERA and 0.95 WHIP with 170 strikeouts over 133 innings last season. He followed that up by leading the majors in ERA (1.97), ranking 4th in WHIP (0.95), and 4th in strikeouts (216) over 187.2 innings of work in 2025.
However, despite his dominating numbers, Skenes collected just 10 wins in 32 starts this season, which was tied for 44th in the league. Over his two seasons at the major league level, Skenes has just 21 wins in 55 starts. The Pirates organization has failed to put a competitive roster on the field surrounding him, and is wasting the talent of such a generational arm.
Skenes received little run support all season long
Since earned run average became an official stat in both leagues back in 1913, Skenes is the only pitcher in MLB history to rack up 200+ strikeouts and post an ERA under 2.00 and not finish with a winning record.
Since ERA became an official stat in both leagues in 1913, Paul Skenes is the only MLB pitcher to finish a season with 200+ strikeouts and a sub-2.00 ERA and yet not have a winning record. pic.twitter.com/KLREg19rdo
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) September 25, 2025
Skenes routinely put the Pirates in a position to win this season, but the lack of run support and frequent bullpen collapses saw Pittsburgh fail to find the win column in Skenes' starts early and often. In the 12 games that Skenes started without getting a decision, he allowed just 12 total earned runs. Over his first 13 starts of the 2025 season, Skenes had allowed just 19 earned runs. Yet, the Pirates lost eight of those games.
According to Codify, Skenes had a 14-start span this season where he allowed 17 earned runs, posting an ERA of 1.74 in that stretch. He got just one win over those 14 dominant starts. He became the first pitcher in MLB history to post an ERA under 2.40 over a 14-game stretch and not record multiple wins. Over his career, Skenes has a 2.73 ERA in games in which he did not earn a win.
Offensively, the Pirates ranked 28th in batting average (.231), 30th in OPS (.655), 30th in runs (583), and 30th in home runs (117) this season. If the Pirates managed to give him just three runs of support in each of his last 50 starts, Skenes would own a record of 31-5. The overall bullpen numbers for the season weren't bad, ranking 13th with a 3.83 ERA. But Skenes collecting just 10 wins over 32 starts is not acceptable.
No faith in Pittsburgh
Since winning the World Series in 1979, the Pirates have made the playoffs just six times in 45 years. They haven't made the postseason since 2015, and their last winning season came in 2018 when they went 82-79. Current ownership refuses to spend money in the free agent market, and the organization's player development leaves a lot to be desired. Baseball fans have little faith that the Pirates will bring in top-tier talent to surround Skenes, which is a real shame.