Pittsburgh Pirates superstar Paul Skenes has taken baseball by storm since being called up earlier this season and is now 8-2 with a 2.16 ERA as he coasts to a National League Rookie of the Year Award and potentially a Cy Young Award as well.
Fans, media members, current players, and retired legends seem to universally agree that they are watching something special, and one former pitcher recently made a strong statement about Skenes’ performance so far this season.
Former MLB pitcher Ron Darling appeared on FanDuel TV and had strong praise for Skenes, saying “Paul Skenes is as strong and as great as any of the great ones ever have been. Power and precision are what makes great pitchers from Roger Clemens to Tom Seaver…Skenes is on that mission.”
“Paul Skenes is as strong and as great as any of the great ones ever have been. Power and precision are what makes great pitchers from Roger Clemens to Tom Seaver… Skenes is on that mission” 💪
Darling noted that being a starting pitcher is a marathon, but teams are training pitchers at the 100-meter level these days and putting them in a box so the great ones are never revealed.
Teams have been placing more emphasis on velocity and less emphasis on going deep into games, so the days of the workhorse ace aren’t what they used to be.
In 2003, 44 pitchers threw at least 200 innings.
In 2023, only five pitchers surpassed that number.
The Pirates have been cautious with Skenes, but not overly conservative as he has worked up to 100+ pitches in seven of his 17 starts so far.
Skenes is a throwback ace that gives legends like Ron Darling memories of decades ago when workhorse starting pitchers used to be box office attractions.
Fans would fill the stands when an ace was on the hill, there were so many pitchers around the league who had that aura of being an ace.
It’s a dying breed, but Skenes fits the bill.