Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes has won 2024 National League Rookie of the Year. Skenes is only the second Pirates player to win the award and the first since Jason Bay did it in 2004. This also makes him the first pitcher in Pirates history to take home the trophy. Skenes is also the first pitcher to win the Jackie Robinson Award since Devin Williams did it for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2020. Skenes showed dominance in his debut season and looks to anchor the Pirates pitching rotation in the future.
Skenes By the Numbers
Paul Skenes had an impressive debut back on May 11, but the Pirate fans and, hell, even the Pirates organization may not have known how good this kid could be. The rookie came into 2024 as a top-10 prospect in all of Major League Baseball. He would have his first career start against the Cubs, where he showed flashes of something special but was also reminded that he was still, indeed, a rookie. He pitched for only 4 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits but collected 7 strikeouts in the process. Out of his 84 total pitches, he hit triple digits on 17 of them, dazzling fans with his lightning velocity.
Paul Skenes would go on to have a tremendous season! Tremendous is an understatement. This kid was phenomenal! He ended the season with an 11-3 record. Personally, I hate the “record” stat for pitchers, but when this guy took the mound, you knew that not only did the Pirates have a legit chance of winning, but you could also see a star in the making. In 23 starts in 2024, Skenes had 133 innings pitched, 1.96 ERA, .95 WHIP, 170 Strikeouts, and 5.9 WAR! These numbers are Cy Young caliber!!! Major League Baseball recognized 65% of his starts as quality starts.
Final Thoughts
The Pittsburgh Pirates may have a diamond in their hands with Paul Skenes. This guy was absolutely nasty every time he took the mound! I hope the Pirates don’t put him in a situation like Detroit Tigers Pitcher Tarik Skubal, where the rotation is Skubal and everybody else. The Pirates are a small market team with a superstar in their grasp. It would be nice to try to get some veterans to go with the young core of the Pirates.
The rook is a future Cy Young Award winner, and I don’t think there is any doubt about it. Congrats to Paul “The Supreme Pitching Machine” Skenes on becoming the second Pirates player to win the award and the first pitcher to do so.
