Skenes need to be better in the future for Pittsburgh.
It’s been a really interesting year for the Pittsburgh Pirates and right-hander Paul Skenes.
The Pirates haven’t done enough and are now eliminated from playoff contention at 79-77.
I don’t want to say the Pirates have been bad, but this season has felt somewhat disappointing.
There’s been a lot of meat left on the bone, and I even think we can point a finger at a guy like Skenes.
I don’t want to say all of this is his fault because he still owns an ERA of 3.91 and has struck out a ridiculous number of hitters, with 192 in 168.0 innings.
For 99% of Major League Baseball pitchers, that would be an above-average year. For Skenes, it’s been the worst of his three-year Major League Baseball career.
It’s unfortunate that things have gone this way, but he has some reasons for it. Speaking to reporters, he suggested that the World Baseball Classic didn’t help.
“There are a lot of other factors, so I don’t want to put everything on that,” the star Pirates pitcher told the Post-Gazette over the weekend. “But I feel like that was kind of the root of it a little bit.”
“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.”
This isn’t an uncommon comment, as other guys have said it in the past.
There’s a reason some players decide to opt out of these tournaments and events: They want to be ready for the regular Major League Baseball season. I don’t fully agree with all of it, but Skenes has some fair points.
I’ll be interested to see what a full offseason looks like for him this year, but if he comes back looking the way he did this year, those comments won’t carry much weight until things are figured out.
