At a time when modern baseball demands immediacy, results and figures that transcend statistics, Paul Skenes has established himself as one of the most impactful pitchers to take the mound in his Major League debut
Since his debut on May 11, 2024 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Skenes has demonstrated unusual consistency and dominance, even for a talent that came in with very high expectations.
Last Sunday, against the Phillies, Skenes put in another stellar performance, pitching 7 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run. With that outing, he made his 32nd appearance in which he allowed two or fewer earned runs, in a total of 37 games as a starter.
Despite his brilliant 1.88 ERA this season, he has only four wins, a reflection of his team’s poor offensive support, which averages just 3.15 runs per game, the lowest figure for the Pirates in more than 100 years.
Paul Skanes’ playing style
What distinguishes Paul Skenes from other top prospects is not only his performance, but also the way he achieves it, as his repertoire is as extensive as it is effective: he throws seven different types of pitches, six of which have a positive run value.
In addition, his four-seam fastball averages 98.1 mph, but he now also uses a devastating sinker that holds right-handed hitters to an average of just .125.
He struck out batters with all of his pitches, including a huge “UFO” slider that he used to take out Kyle Schwarber.
Paul Skanes statistics
In terms of pure statistics, Skenes has the best ERA through his first 37 starts in MLB history
In terms of strikeout percentage per inning, he is only surpassed by Stephen Strasburg, and if we combine ERA, strikeout rate, youth and projection, Skenes stands out against names like Jose Fernandez, Matt Harvey or even Strasburg himself, whose careers were cut short by injury.
The “Skenes effect” in Pittsburgh
Skenes is beginning to generate an effect worthy of the best pitchers, although overshadowed by the low competitiveness of his team.
The “Skenes Effect” on attendance at PNC Park was noticeable in his first year, with increases of up to 24% on the days he pitched. However, this year the figure has dropped, partly due to poor offensive support and a lack of relievers in management to build a competitive team around him.
Skenes dominates the variation of speeds, mix of angles, rotation, and surgical precision and from what he has shown so far, in his first 37 starts he fully justifies his status as a phenomenon, although he is not yet the best young pitcher of all time, but he is probably the most complete.
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