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Paul Skenes Is A Cy Young Level Pitcher

Vendetta Sports Media / MLB / July 11, 2024

Paul Skenes Is A Cy Young Level Pitcher

Pittsburgh Pirates starter Paul Skenes seems like a lock for Rookie of the Year, but I think he should be added to the NL CY Young conversation, too.

Skenes is off to one of the best, if not the best, starts to a pitching career in the last couple of decades. I’m not exaggerating. He’s doing better than some locked-in Hall of Famers and CY Young winners did. Comparing his BaseballReference stats through his first five decisions puts him in some serious company.

Paul Skenes: 5-0, 2.12 ERA, 78 SO, 12 BB

Clayton Kershaw: 2-3, 3.71 ERA, 50 SO, 33 BB
Justin Verlander: 1-4, 6.10 ERA, 21 SO, 11 BB
Jacob deGrom: 1-4, 3.75 ERA, 41 SO, 19 BB

Beyond his historical impressiveness, Paul Skenes is dominating compared to his contemporaries. Though Skenes does not yet qualify for leaderboards, his 2.12 ERA would be the league’s best among starters. At 11.8, his strikeouts per nine innings would make him the third-best in the majors. Ranger Suarez, whom ESPN has at second in their CY Young predictions for the National League, has 106 Ks in 108 IP; Skenes has 78 in 59.1.

I have to hammer home that Paul Skenes is a rookie. Those 59.1 innings aren’t only this season’s innings, they’re his career innings. He was the first No. 1 overall pick to ever be named an All-Star in his rookie season. Just today, Skenes delivered the best performance of his season (and career) thus far. He struck out 11 in seven no-hit innings against the Milwaukee Brewers before being frustratingly pulled from the game after 99 pitches.

Kenley Jansen wants to retire ‘in Dodger blue’

It is rare to see this dominating of a start from any pitcher, much less a 22-year-old in his first season. Paul Skenes is delivering beyond and above his hype–how often does that happen? I might be coming off as hyperbolic, but I’m serious. We need to start considering Paul Skenes in much bigger conversations than NL Rookie of the Year.

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