Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes seemingly etches his name into Major League Baseball’s record books every time he toes the rubber. That was once again the case last week when he didn’t allow an earned run for a fifth consecutive home start.
In doing so, he passed former Pirates pitchers Bob Harmon and Zane Smith, who both held the previous mark before Skenes’ astounding 27 2/3 scoreless innings at PNC Park. Carrying an MLB-best 1.94 ERA into his next start, the 23-year-old Pirates ace continues to receive kudos and appreciation from the wider baseball world.
Former MLB pitcher Trevor May discussed what separates Skenes from some of the other young and talented pitchers across the game right now during a recent appearance on the Foul Territory podcast.
“He found his ability to have true power stuff in college. Some guys don’t know how it’s going to play at the big league level or a high level,” May said. “Take (Jacob) Misiorowski, for example, maybe Chase Burns. These guys are a little bit more raw, and they have great stuff, and they know that is going to be the way that they operate. This is what is going to get me and keep me here, and then they’re learning how to use that stuff effectively. Here, Skenes is just a couple of steps ahead.”
Taking his point one step further, May suggests the biggest difference between Skenes, Misiorowski and Burns at this point in their development has everything to do with elite command more so than his entire pitch arsenal.
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“It’s just something he’s already thought about. It was already on his radar as a 20-year-old,” May said. “And he had elite command. He’s has elite command, and those guys don’t, right? So that is kind of where it comes from.”
Skenes has averaged a tidy 2.1 walks per nine innings in addition to recording a 10.1 K/9 over his 144 innings (24 starts).
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