Paul Skenes' velocity continues to drop as the Pittsburgh Pirates' star pitcher faces more adversity on the mound.
Even when the Pittsburgh Pirates were firing on all cylinders earlier this season and looked like a playoff team, there was an underlying concern about arguably the most important player on the roster: Paul Skenes.
The issue was that Skenes' velocity had noticeably dipped from his previous two seasons. When general manager Ben Cherrington was asked about the trend earlier in the year, he insisted there was no reason to be alarmed by the dip.
However, the issue persists, and the Pirates might have no choice but to face the reality they're starting to see: it's time to be concerned about Paul Skenes.
Skenes has a 3.88 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP on the season. At face value, no, those numbers aren't horrible, but the trends are the real concern.
The 24-year-old has made eight starts since the beginning of July. In those outings, he's allowed three or more earned runs in half of them.
Skenes also isn't getting as deep into games, either. The longest outing Skenes has had over the six weeks came against the Cleveland Guardians, in which he tossed seven innings. Outside of that, he's only averaging 5.1 innings a start.
Jul 25, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) reacts before being removed from the game during the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn ImagesThis issue came to ahead on Tuesday evening against the Miami Marlins in which Skenes only threw 65 pitches before exiting the game.
But again, the issue that seemingly has everyone looking at Skenes, is that he simply isn't throwing the ball as hard as he used. In fact, it's not even close.
Skenes' average fastball velocity for this season has been about 96.8 mph, which is down from both 2025 (98.1 mph) and 2024 (98.8 mph).
The velocity problem has only gotten worse as the season has progressed. Since July 1, Skenes' velocity has been even below has season-average, sitting at 96.5 mph. He didn't throw a single pitch over 96 mph against the Marlins.
It's not just the fact that Skenes isn't throwing as hard. That one metric has also led to more hard contact and fewer strikeouts for the right-hander.
Manager Don Kelly attributed Skenes' struggles to the league adjusting back to him after he set such a high bar in his first two seasons.
There's another theory from a Pirates insider that Skenes added weight over the offseason, which could be contributing to the downtick in velocity.
Whatever the reason is, now is the time for the Pirates to admit something isn't right for the betterment of Skenes' career.
