Paul Skenes is on track to claim the National League Cy Young Award, which would mark a significant achievement for the Pittsburgh Pirates as he would be the first player from the team to win since Doug Drabek in 1990. Skenes would also become just the third Pirates pitcher in history to earn this accolade, following the footsteps of Hall of Famer Vern Law, who won the award in 1960.
This season, Skenes has delivered one of the most impressive pitching campaigns in recent MLB history, breaking several records along the way. He is particularly notable as the first NL pitcher since Jacob DeGrom in 2018 to finish the season with a sub-2.00 ERA alongside more than 200 strikeouts. Remarkably, he is also the first pitcher since Justin Verlander in 2022 to achieve a sub-2.00 ERA for a full season.
Adding to the uniqueness of his accomplishments, Skenes became the first pitcher in MLB history since the establishment of ERA as a statistic in 1913 to finish a season with over 200 strikeouts and a sub-2.00 ERA without securing a winning record. At just 23 years old, he is the first qualified pitcher to post a sub-2.00 ERA at this age since Dwight Gooden accomplished the feat at 20 in 1985.
Within the franchise, Skenes has set a new benchmark for right-handed pitchers by recording 216 strikeouts, the highest in the live-ball era since 1920. He ranks seventh for strikeouts in a single season in Pirates history, and only Ed Morris has more in a season with stunning totals of 326 and 298 in the 1880s.
Skenes’ stellar performance has positioned him among an elite group of Pirates pitchers who led Major League Baseball in ERA. He joins the ranks of John Candelaria, who last led the league in 1977, and Cy Blanton, who was the first to do so in 1935.
In addition to his remarkable season, Skenes also made history during the All-Star Game in 2024 by being selected as a starter for the National League. He is the first rookie to achieve this distinction since Hideo Nomo in 1995 and the first Pirates pitcher to start since Jerry Reuss in 1975.
Overall, Skenes’ achievements not only highlight his individual talent but also signal a promising future for the Pirates and their pitching staff. As he wraps up the season, his dedication and skill on the mound have ignited optimism within the fanbase and set the stage for a hopeful next chapter in Pirates history.