Skenes honored for rookie brilliance with All-MLB First Team
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PITTSBURGH -- Paul Skenes turned in a historic rookie performance in 2024, setting a franchise record for strikeouts by a rookie and finishing with an ERA that no rookie since the Dead Ball Era has boasted.
The league -- and its fans -- took notice, and Skenes was named to the 2024 All-MLB First Team presented by MGM Rewards.
Skenes entered the year with tremendous hype, billed as the top pitching prospect of his generation after leading LSU to a College World Series title in 2023 and being selected first overall in the Draft. He lived up to those heightened expectations immediately, going 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA over 23 starts, punching out 170 over 133 innings.
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It was a performance that made him a finalist not only for the National League’s Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award, but also for the Cy Young Award. He also started the All-Star Game for the NL, becoming just the fifth rookie to do so and the first since the Dodgers’ Hideo Nomo in 1995.
That was just one in what was a series of “firsts” and awards that Skenes accomplished this season. He was unanimously named the Steve Blass Award winner by the local chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in September. His 1.96 ERA was the lowest for a rookie who made at least 20 starts in a season since the White Sox Reb Russell in 1913. Skenes’ 170 strikeouts broke an 89-year-old record by Cy Blanton for the most punchouts by a Pirates rookie pitcher. Baseball Digest has already named him their NL Rookie of the Year, too.
Skenes is joined by Chris Sale of the Braves, Tarik Skubal of the Tigers, Zack Wheeler of the Phillies and Corbin Burnes of the Orioles as the starting rotation for the First Team. He is the first Pirate to be named to the First Team since the awards started in 2019.
Fans accounted for 50 percent of the voting for the All-MLB Team, with a panel of experts handling the other 50 percent. All choices are based on the 2024 regular season, without regard for league affiliation.