Pittsburg, PA
Pirates’ Paul Skenes Favorite for NL Cy Young Award

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes heads into the 2025 season as one of the top pitchers in baseball.
Skenes starred at LSU in 2023, after transferring from Air Force. He had a 13-2 record in 19 starts, 1.69 ERA in 122.2 innings pitched, gave up just 23 earned runs and seven earned runs, while making 209 strikeouts to just 20 walks, leading the program to a national title that season.
He would enter the 2023 MLB Draft, where the Pirates took him with the No. 1 overall pick. He also signed with the franchise on a $9.2 million signing bonus, the highest ever given to a player at the time.
Skenes dominated in the minor leagues and soon made it up to the majors on May 11 of the 2024 season.
He started 23 games, had a 1.96 ERA in 133.0 innings pitched, allowed just 29 earned runs, 94 hits, six home runs and 32 walks, while making 170 strikeouts and holding opposing hitting to a .198 batting average. He also had a 11.50 K/9 and a WHIP of 0.95.
He was also the first member of the Pirates to start for the National League in the All-Star Game since Jerry Reuss did it in 1975, 49 years ago. He is also just the fifth rookie to start an All-Star game, with Hideo Nomo of the Los Angeles Dodgers doing so in 1995, en route to winning NL Rookie of the Year.
Skenes won NL Rookie of the Year, made the All-MLB First Team and finished third in the NL CY Young Award voting.
MLB.com ranked the top 15 pitchers who could win a Cy Young Award, in 2025 honoring the best pitcher in both the American League and in the National League, and they picked Skenes as their favorite for the NL.
“The 2024 NL Rookie of the Year may have captured the Cy Young Award as well if he had begun last year in the big leagues,” Brian Murphy wrote. “Despite not debuting until May 11, Skenes still finished as the seventh-most valuable pitcher by run value. His 1.96 ERA was the best by any rookie with at least 20 starts in the Live Ball Era (since 1920), while his 33.1% strikeout rate and 26.8% K-BB rate trailed only Garrett Crochet among pitchers with 130 innings.
“At just 22 years old, Skenes harnesses six pitches, none of which allowed an expected wOBA better than .283 last year (league average was .315). He’s now adding to that arsenal with a cutter that has already gone viral this spring. Looking even more dangerous, Skenes could join Dwight Gooden (1985) as the only Rookie of the Year pitchers to claim a Cy Young the following season (though, of course, Fernando Valenzuela is the only pitcher to win both in the same season, in 1981). Maybe Skenes will be a factor in the MVP race, too.”
The Pirates begin their season against the Miami Marlins on the road on March 27, where Skenes will likely serve as the opening day starter.
Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburg, PA
How to buy new Pittsburgh Steelers DK Metcalf jersey and gear

DK Metcalf mania has arrived for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The dynamic Pro Bowl receiver requested to be traded by the Seattle Seahawks. Rumors and speculation swirled and eventually Metcalf landed in the Steel City.
Even with plenty of questions needing answering in Pittsburgh, particularly under center at the quarterback position, it’s almost null-and-void. Metcalf has proven his skills having played with a wide-array of quarterbacks in his career.
Not to mention, he’s paired up with George Pickens in the Steelers’ receiver room too.
Shop DK Metcalf Pittsburgh Steelers jersey
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Following his trade to Pittsburgh, be sure to be the first Steelers fan you know to own a DK Metcalf Steelers jersey or other gear featuring the wideout.
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Metcalf’s new Steelers jersey that he’ll be wearing in 2025 and beyond.
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Metcalf shirt with the Steelers’ motto, a marriage made in heaven.
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Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh Police officers recover drugs, cash during two South Side arrests

Pittsburgh Police officers on the city’s South Side made two arrests last week that resulted in the recovery of a large amount of drugs.
Police say the first arrest happened on Friday, March 7 when officers stopped a vehicle along Arlington Avenue and got a search warrant after seeing and smelling marijuana coming from inside.
While searching the vehicle, police say officers found more than 200 joints and several pre-packaged products meant for sale, nearly $500 cash, and drug paraphernalia.
The driver of the vehicle was arrested and charged with multiple counts of drug possession.
The second arrest happened the following day, on Saturday, March 8 when police say officers spotted a man who they knew to have an arrest warrant from the police bureau’s Narcotics Unit.
Police say the man was detained in the area of S. 23rd Street and Carey Way and a search led them to find a large amount of individually packaged cocaine, nearly $800 in cash, and a gun that had been reported stolen out of Butler County.
The man was charged with drug possession and weapons violations.
Pittsburg, PA
New Steelers cornerback recruiting Aaron Rodgers to Pittsburgh: ‘Come on’
PITTSBURGH — Former New York Jets and new Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Brandin Echols has a goal after signing with Pittsburgh. He wants to recruit to his quarterback from the Jets, Aaron Rodgers, to the Steelers.
Echols says he and Rodgers became fixated with one another early in Rodgers’ tenure with the Steelers, and after that, the two became friends.
“It was cool, man. I couldn’t really, when he first got there I couldn’t really feel him out, but after a while we kind of gravitated towards each other and practices. He started try to attack me, but it was for the betterment of me and I would say having him around it did make me a better football player,” Echols said of Rodgers.
Echols said that he plans to recruit Rodgers to Pittsburgh and needs to ‘come on and bring his (expletive)’ to the Steelers. For Echols, he saw what Rodgers could do inside a locker room and had a lot of positives to take away from that experience.
“I’m more of a ducked-off, laid-back type of guy. I try to just get a feel for everybody and he just start pushing his way towards me and making jokes, poking at me and stuff. Then after a while we just start talking. Then I used to have a little, hair do thing that I used to do, he’ll look at me and be like, oh, if the hair is on the right side, he’s mad. If it’s on the left side, he’s happy. If it’s in the middle, you don’t know what you might get. So yeah, he was cool,” Echols said of Rodgers.
Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says money is not why Rodgers has taken his time. On top of that, the Steelers have not talked to Rodgers since they laid their offer out to him. It seems Rodgers is thinking and will decide on his time.
On top of that, another team is being floated as a contender for Rodgers. Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports that the Minnesota Vikings continue to be a lingering team that could make a run at Rodgers despite having J.J. McCarthy.
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