Perrotto: Paul Skenes Kept 2024 From Being Bad Year

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ 2024 season was a disappointment, regardless of how the team tried to spin it.

The Pirates finished 76-86 but it was a different season than the previous one. In 2023, the Pirates won 18 of their last 31 games and finished fourth in the five-team National League. They also won 14 more games than in 2022 when they went 62-100.

This year was different.

The Pirates were still in contention at the trade deadline and general manager Ben Cherington made moves, albeit uninspiring, to acquire infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa from the Toronto Blue Jays and Bryan De La Cruz from the Miami Marlins along with hitting prospects Billy Cook of the Baltimore Orioles and Nick Yorke of the Boston Red Sox.

In August, the Pirates lost 10 in a row, nosedived out of contention, and finished with a losing record for the 28th time in 32 years. They also finished last in their National League Central.

However, as disappointing as the season was for Pirates’ fans as the franchise again missed gaining their first postseason berth since 2015, one thing happened that kept 2025 from being a failure.

Paul Skenes happened.

Skenes reached the major leagues less than one year after being drafted first overall after leading LSU to the College World Series title. The big right-hander then had a season for the ages, going 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts and striking out 170 in 133 innings.

Skenes became the fifth rookie pitcher to start an All-Star Game. He pitched one scoreless inning for the NL at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

More impressively, Skenes was just the second Pirates player to win NL Rookie of the Year – joining 2004 recipient Jason Bay. The 6-foot-6, 250-pounder also was third in the NL Cy Young Award voting behind the Atlanta Braves’ Chris Sale and Philadelphia Phillies’ Zach Wheeler.

Now that a few months had passed, I asked Pirates general manager Ben Cherington and manager Derek Shelton to reflect on Skenes’ outstanding season during MLB’s Winter Meetings.

They were still amazed. However, what really stood out for the duo was how focused Skenes was on improving.

“I think he continues to get the feedback and the reaction from the public that he deserves,” Cherington said. “It’s warranted. That part’s not surprising because we saw the performance and knew how good it was. Certainly, exciting to be around it and watch it.

“It’s just exciting for us to talk to him and know what he’s doing this offseason, to continue to get better at the things he’s getting after right now. He sees another level for himself, and that’s exciting too. He’s, in his way, pulling some others with him, too, which is good. He’s a very important part of the Pirates, for sure, and we’re lucky he’s on our side.”

His consistency might have been Skenes’ greatest attribute, something rare for a pitcher who didn’t turn 22 until May 29, 18 days following his MLB debut.

Skenes allowed two runs or less in 19 starts, one or none in 13 starts and pitched shutout ball seven times. The most runs he gave up in a start were four, against the eventual World Series champion Dodgers on Aug. 10 in Los Angeles.

“I think as you sit back unemotionally and reflect on it, I mean, historic,” Shelton said. “A sub-two ERA. I think our pitching group and our organization in general did a really good job.”

Like Cherington, Shelton looks forward to a better version of Skenes in 2025.

“To look back on what he did, it was fun to watch, but the thing that’s been even more important is his thirst to continue to get better,” Shelton said. “The conversations, how he worked. I don’t think you see very many 22-year-olds that are as regimented in terms of his process, and he wants to get better.”

Pitchers’ futures are always difficult to predict. However, it is exciting for even the most jaded fans to wonder what is next for Skenes.