Pittsburgh Pirates superstar pitcher Paul Skenes isn't throwing as hard as he used to.
Paul Skenes is still one of the best pitchers in all of MLB, but there have also been moments throughout the season where Skenes hasn’t looked like the same elite-level, Cy Young-caliber, generational talent pitcher the Pittsburgh Pirates have gotten used to over the last two seasons.
One of the biggest areas where Skenes’ stats have taken a step back this year is in how hard the right-hander has been throwing the ball.
The 24-year-old’s fastball velocity has been on a steady decline since making his MLB debut, which isn’t the most comforting trend for him or the Pirates.
Skenes’ average fastball velocity by season has looked like this:
- - 2024: 98.8 mph (99th percentile)
- - 2025: 98.1 mph (95th percentile)
- - 2026: 97.0 mph (87th percentile)
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington actually talked about this exact topic during a recent appearance on 97.3 The Fan.
“The most important thing is we aren’t getting anything from him that there is any physical issue,” explained the Pirates executive.
“I think zooming out, my personal opinion is, this is fairly standard for starting pitchers over time, including elite ones. There are smaller stretches of time where there is some small regression that can be for any number of reasons and then three months later, they feel different. It’s not uncommon.”
Jun 3, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) delivers a pitch during the second inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn ImagesShould the Pirates be overly worried about Skenes’ drop in velocity?
It doesn’t sound like it’s something that the front office is overly concerned about right now, so there must be no reason to ring the alarm just yet.
Of course, Cherington isn’t going to come out and admit that the team is panicking, but he does feel that a pitcher who throws as hard as Skenes does goes in ebbs and flows. Will this be the case for Skenes throughout the 2026 season?
With all that in mind, it will be interesting to monitor Skenes’ velocity the rest of the 2026 season, and see if it gets back up to the 98 mph range, stays where it’s at, or starts to drop even further.
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