With last start looming, Skenes reflects on historic year

PITTSBURGH – Paul Skenes mulled over the question for a good 15 seconds.

It has been quite the eventful year for the Pirates’ star rookie, fulfilling his almost-otherworldly expectations. He started an All-Star Game. He blew a 100 mph fastball by Shohei Ohtani. He got to meet Bob Uecker. All the while, he has pieced together a historic campaign, pitching to a 1.99 ERA with a franchise rookie record of 167 strikeouts.

Most recently, he was unanimously named the Steve Blass Award winner Tuesday by the local chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, recognizing the Pirates’ pitcher of the year. Nationally, the focus is on whether he will be the National League’s Rookie of the Year in his first full professional season.

The list could go on, but the spirit of the question remained the same even without any more listed accolades. Did anything stand out this year that he didn’t expect?

“I don't know,” Skenes finally responded. “I didn't put a ton of expectations on the year other than to really learn and then go out there and execute to the best of my ability and whatever happens, happens.”

He’s learned plenty about how his stuff works in the Majors, especially his fastball, thanks to working with catcher Yasmani Grandal for most of the year. The veteran catcher and manager Derek Shelton have both been very complimentary all season of Skenes' in-game adjustments, something that doesn’t normally come naturally to young pitchers, especially since he now has a full arsenal rather than just the four-seam fastball and slider that he leaned on throughout most of college.

“He's a continuous learner,” Shelton said. “How he handles situations, how he's able to make adjustments. I mean, he faced two teams in our division four times. That's challenging for any pitcher to do, much less a rookie. The ability to be able to change his repertoire, execute pitches, I think we saw in Cincinnati the other day, going to the changeup, I think that's the thing that probably stands out the most, which is very rare for a young player.”

“It’s not like we’re just punching X and O and triangle or whatever it is in ‘The Show,’” Skenes said about how he uses a full arsenal. “It’s like, ‘Well, I have it, so I might as well throw it.’ We’ve gotten to that point a little bit where I can get guys out with two pitches, three pitches, whatever it is, but being able to get guys out with all five has been really fun.”

Skenes has one more start on the docket this weekend in the Bronx. He’s looking forward to that turn at Yankee Stadium, but it also means that he will miss the final homestand at PNC Park this year.

He’ll be back in 2025, and he has higher aspirations than what he accomplished this year.

“We’re going to be better next year,” Skenes said. “We’re going to win a lot more games next year. So [fans should] just keep coming. It means a lot to us. We’re going to give it back to them.”