Pirates Stick Up for Paul Skenes After Somewhat Down 2026 Campaign

As we look at what right-hander Paul Skenes did throughout the 2026 campaign, it's not unfair to say that this was by far the worst season of his career. 

From top to bottom, statistically, velocity-wise, and everything else, Skenes just wasn't the same type of pitcher that he typically was. 

There were many reasons for that, including his inability to limit home runs. Throughout this campaign, Skenes allowed 20 home runs, which was nearly double the year before, despite throwing more innings in 2025.

His strikeout stuff was still above average, but even there, it wasn't as elite as it typically was. Skenes understands that he wasn't as great as he was a few years ago, but is also in the boat that he wasn't as bad as maybe his numbers suggest. 

A 3.82 ERA and 200 strikeouts in 174.1 innings would be above average for nearly every other starter in baseball, but that isn't the case for a guy like the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander. 

Speaking to reporters, there's still a lot of hope in Pittsburgh about Skenes getting back to the level that we all know he can throw the baseball at. Don Kelly recently spoke about that and put everything into perspective.

“I think Paul set the bar so high the first two years — rookie of the year, Cy Young — and the expectation that he has for himself to still reach that bar is what he expects,” Kelly said, per TribLive. “Extremely tough bar to reach every single year. I think that Paul has learned a lot going through this year. I think he’s had a good year. I would say — and he would probably agree — not a great year, by his standards.

“He’s pitched well enough to help us win games. I think that as he continues to work, to learn himself, to learn the adjustments, the prep, the recovery — and it’s a process — I think sometimes we lose sight of the fact that Paul Skenes is human and he’s in his third year of the major leagues and he’s still learning how to navigate 162. He has pitched well. I don’t think he’s satisfied with where he’s at. He’s going to continue to work, continue to improve and I think that with Paul Skenes, the best is yet to come.”

I think many forget that Skenes is still just 24 years old and won't turn 25 until after the start of next season. 

This isn't a 10-year veteran who has everything figured out, despite the numbers that he's put up in the past.