Paul Skenes
The numbers scream ace, but here's the stunner: Skenes has already notched a Cy Young award before his 25th birthday, something only Dwight Gooden accomplished in the modern era. His 1.97 career ERA across 321 innings isn't a small sample fluke — it's sustained dominance backed by 386 strikeouts.
What separates Skenes from other young flamethrowers is command. That 2024 Cy Young season featured just 11 losses despite Pittsburgh's offensive limitations, suggesting he's already mastered pitching with leads and keeping his team in games. The 170 strikeouts in his rookie campaign signal plus stuff, but the 1.96 ERA reveals advanced sequencing.
The trajectory mirrors peak Pedro Martinez more than power-only prospects who flame out. With back-to-back All-Star nods already secured, Skenes has established himself as the rare pitcher who arrives fully formed.
| Date | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | HR | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 12 | 5.333 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 0 | W |
| Jul 7 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | W |
| Jul 1 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 2 | L |
| Jun 26 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 0 | — |
| Jun 20 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 1 | L |
| Jun 14 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 2 | L |
| Jun 9 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 | — |
| Jun 3 | 4.667 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 0 | — |
| May 23 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | L |
| May 17 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 1 | L |
Career · Pitching
3 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | — | 23 | 133.0 | 11 | 3 | 1.96 | — | 170 | 0.95 |
| 2025 | — | 32 | 187.2 | 10 | 10 | 1.97 | — | 216 | 0.95 |
| 2026 | — | 21 | 115.1 | 9 | 8 | 3.43 | — | 138 | 1.04 |
| Career | 76 | 435.3 | 30 | 21 | — | — | 524 | — | |
Each pitch type this pitcher throws regularly, placed by how the ball moves — sideways break across, rise or drop down the side. Each dotted ring holds about the middle 85% of the league’s pitches of that type, so a cluster sitting outside its ring is movement most pitchers don’t have.
The dots — a sample of this pitcher’s regular-season pitches, placed by movement: left–right is horizontal break, up–down is induced vertical break (what the pitch does beyond gravity). The view is handedness-neutral — positive break is toward the pitcher’s arm side for lefties and righties alike, so every sinker runs right and every sweeper breaks left, whoever throws it.
The dotted rings — about the middle 85% of where each pitch type lands league-wide (a 2-standard-deviation spread), measured from 7.5 million regular-season pitches since 2015. A cluster sitting well outside its ring is movement most of the league doesn’t get. Spring training and the postseason are excluded.
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.