Pirates Ace Paul Skenes Asks For More From Entire Team

The Pittsburgh Pirates have nine games remaining and are eliminated from postseason contention. It’s safe to say the season didn’t go as they hoped.

That doesn’t mean the season was without bright spots, though. Paul Skenes is going to win the National League Cy Award one year removed from winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award. Mike Burrows and Braxton Ashcraft had very productive years in their first full major league seasons. Johan Oviedo has looked sharp in his return from injury, while Isaac Mattson and Dennis Santana have been productive at the back of the bullpen.

Unfortunately, the offensive output didn’t match that of the pitching. The Pirates ranked last in baseball in runs per game. They hit the fewest home runs in baseball and had the third-worst batting average. They drew walks frequently, but struck out at too high a clip to consistently score runs.

The only unrestricted free agents on the major league roster after the season are Tommy Pham and Andrew McCutchen. Either or both players could return next season, but the Pirates could bring a very similar team back next year. They’ve shown enough flashes to provide fans with some hope, but they need to improve significantly to reach the postseason next year.

Assuming he’s healthy, Skenes will start on opening day against the New York Mets. While he had an excellent season, he’s focused on team performance.

“Winning, a lot of it comes down to what you’re willing to give up, what you’re willing to sacrifice,” Skenes said. “I think as a group, it’s gonna take more sacrifices from us.”

Skenes wasn’t speaking about anyone specifically, but rather the team as a whole. While the focus in the offseason will be on the offense, the pitching will need to be consistent as well. Pirates’ starters averaged about 5 1/3 innings per start, 20th in the league. Some of that is due to managing young pitchers’ workloads, but offseason work can help pitchers be better conditioned going into next season.

“There’s guys that didn’t play as well as they had hoped this year, didn’t play as well as they were expecting to, but like I said, we knew that coming into this year too. There were guys last year that didn’t play as well, not necessarily the same guys as this year, but there’s room to get better in this locker room. We just need to do it. I’m sure we’ll get some pieces and do all that, but my mind right now is, what can we do within the locker room to get better?” Skenes said.

The good news is, the Pirates are young. Many players are far from finished products. Rafael Flores and Cam Devanney each debuted late in the season and could contribute next year. Konnor Griffin will push for major league playing time next year. Being on the roster isn’t enough, though. They’ll need to put in the work to be a winning ballclub.

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