Pittsburgh Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes spoke out honestly about a big mistake he made before this season.
Coming into the 2026 MLB season, the Pittsburgh Pirates were expecting more of the same from superstar pitcher Paul Skenes.
Over the last two years, Skenes has been nearly untouchable. He has been arguably the best pitcher in baseball. This season, that simply hasn't been the case.
Throughout the course of the 2026 MLB season thus far, Skenes has made 31 starts. In those appearances, he has compiled a 10-11 record to go along with a 3.91 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, a 4.1 K/BB ratio, and 168 innings pitched. Those numbers are a major falloff from previous seasons.
In 2025, Skenes made 32 starts. He went 10-10 with a 1.97 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 5.1 K/BB ratio, and 187.2 innings pitched. Back in 2024, he went 11-3 in 23 starts with a 1.96 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 5.3 K/BB ratio, and 133 innings of work completed.
What has contributed to his down season in 2026? Skenes admitted that he made a major mistake by pitching in the World Baseball Classic during the offseason.
Skenes didn't fully blame the World Baseball Classic, but he made it clear that he thinks that was a major contributing factor.
“There are a lot of other factors, so I don’t want to put everything on that,” Skenes said. “But I feel like that was kind of the root of it a little bit.”
He continued on, revealing more of his reasoning about why that decision has impacted him so much.
“Usually, that time of year, you’re kind of ramping up and it’s a little bit slow. You can kind of get onto the slope and find your body," he said. “One live [batting practice], you’re topping at 97 [mph], and then the next you’re 98, 99. And that wasn’t the case this year… Looking back, I don’t think that really helped.”
Finally, Skenes admitted that not giving himself a full offseason impacted his early-season ability.
“When you go outing to outing, you don’t really see the big picture sometimes,” Skenes said. “I think looking back, I can kind of see it now. Because early in the season, you can get away with stuff mechanically or you might not be moving perfectly, but you’re fresh and the velo is there because you’re feeling good.”
Only time will tell whether or not Skenes can get back on track next season. After these comments, it would be a shock to see him pitch in a World Baseball Classic again down the road.
