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.

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