Skenes makes most of abbreviated final start to cap superb rookie season

NEW YORK -- During the Pirates' most recent trip to St. Louis, Derek Shelton acknowledged that he met with Paul Skenes in an effort to outline what the final two starts of his rookie season would look like. All year, the club has made a conscious effort to monitor Skenes' workload, all while giving him the opportunity to pitch the entirety of his first full season of professional baseball. There were, however, pre-determined limitations for these last two outings. 

Skenes was made aware that he'd pitch five innings in Cincinnati before being limited to just two innings in what turned out to be a 9-4 win over the Yankees Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. The two innings put Skenes at 133 at the major-league level this season. Add on the 27 1/3 he threw with Class AAA Indianapolis prior to his May 11 promotion and Skenes finishes his first full season of pro ball at 160 1/3 innings, a significant jump when compared to the previous career high of 129 1/3 innings he threw between LSU (122 2/3 innings) and three minor-league affiliates (6 2/3) last season. 

"I think it was a little bit fluid," Shelton said in reference to whether or not 160 innings was a target number for Skenes. "I think we were probably between 155 and 165 there, depending on how innings went. But I think 160 is a really solid number." 

Shelton and Skenes both agreed that the plan to manage his workload was a successful one. The Pirates kept him down in Indianapolis for the first month-plus of the season in an effort to build him up enough to handle a major-league workload before giving him the opportunity to consistently pitch quality innings at the highest level possible. Skenes took full of advantage of those opportunities, too, pitching five innings or more 21 times and delivering with six-plus innings in 16 of his 23 starts this season. The only two exceptions were the four innings he threw in his major-league debut and the two innings he pitched Saturday. 

"We didn't know if it was going to be perfect. I don't think anybody did," Shelton said. "I realized people were going to be critical because they wanted to see him. We wanted to make sure we ramped him up. Even today, he finished the season strong. He finished the season on the mound. Overall, I think it stands out that it worked out pretty well." 

"We got right to where the innings threshold was," Skenes later added. "So, frustrating first couple of months but glad to be able to do what I did this year." 

Skenes has clearly acclimated himself well to pitching at the big-league level and working deeper into a calendar year. That's to his credit for the way he's performed. Shelton believes the amount he's pitched will also put him in a good spot to be full-go and expand on his innings in his second season as a major leaguer. 

"I think we built up the volume as much as we could," Shelton said. "I know we monitored it pretty closely over the last month, even going into the last outing being five. Today, we knew it was only going to be two. We put ourselves in a position where he's going to be able to build off that next year." 

He only threw 23 pitches before being replaced by a debuting right-hander in Mike Burrows Saturday, but Skenes made his time on the mound in the Bronx count by retiring all six batters he faced and striking out three of the top hitters in the Yankees' lineup in Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. He was certainly bringing it, too. While he's averaged 98.8 mph with his fastball this season, Skenes was consistently sitting over 99 on Saturday. He reached 100 mph or higher seven times, including three during his first-inning at-bat against Chisholm. Skenes topped out at 101 mph with two fastballs to Judge. 

"Definitely glad to be able to finish the season and able to do it here. Cool to do it against this lineup," Skenes said. "Wish I could keep going, but that's where we're at." 

Regardless of the plan, Skenes’ introduction to Major League Baseball was special due to the fact that he made the most of every opportunity. Whether he was afforded the luxury of run support on a given night or not, Skenes showed up for every start and delivered. That’s evident in the numbers he’s put up and the historic feats he’s accomplished. The latter includes him becoming the fourth different pitcher in MLB history to finish a season with a sub-2.00 ERA while averaging 11-plus strikeouts per nine innings -- with a minimum 20 starts -- according to StatsPerform. The other names on that list are Pedro Martinez in 1997 and 2000, Jacob deGrom in 2018 and Blake Snell in 2018. To put this particular accomplishment into perspective, all three of those pitchers won the Cy Young Award that year. That's how good this guy has been. 

In addition to achieving things few, if any, have before, Skenes has concluded his rookie season with eye-popping numbers, ones that undoubtedly warrant serious consideration for the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Honestly, they're good enough for him to realistically deserve consideration for the Cy Young Award, too. In 23 starts, he posted an 11-3 record with a minuscule 1.96 ERA, the lowest by a rookie pitcher with a minimum of 20 starts since 1950. He finished with a 0.95 WHIP, limited opposing hitters to a .198 batting average -- the lowest by a Pirates starter all-time -- and compiled 170 strikeouts with 32 walks over his 133 innings in a Pirates uniform. 

In order to prove a point in favor of Skenes' bid for rookie of the year, one could easily compare his final numbers to a legitimate rookie of the year candidate on the American League side in Luis Gil, the man who opposed him on Saturday. After allowing six earned runs over 5 2/3 innings in his final start of the regular season, Gil ended up producing a 15-7 record with a 3.50 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP over 29 starts. He struck out 171 batters and walked 77 in 151 2/3 innings, all while limiting hitters to a .189 average. 

Skenes has made six fewer starts, posted better numbers in terms of ERA and WHIP and has only one less strikeout with a much more desirable walk rate. And this is comparing him to a guy many think is going to win the award in the AL. Certainly seems to help Skenes' cause, while proving just how good he actually has been in less of a sample compared to other top rookies.

"He's doing things that we haven't seen anyone do. Since he's come up, it's hard to argue that he's not only been the Rookie of the Year, but been one of the best pitchers in baseball with the things he's done," Shelton said. "To have a sub-two ERA in his first year, especially in today's era, that's pretty special. I think we're seeing a guy that's really elite, has the ability to make pitches and has room for growth. I think that's really fun for Pirates fans, if that's the case." 

Shelton was asked postgame about what he'll remember most about Skenes' historic rookie season. His answer was quite simple: The fact that he continued to find ways to get better. 

"One of the things that stands out is he faced teams in our division three or four times, and usually when that happens they make adjustments. The quickness that he made adjustments back, you really don't see out of young pitchers, especially rookie pitchers in what's really their first professional season," Shelton said. "His ability to go to different pitches in his arsenal at certain times is what stands out." 

While Skenes will undoubtedly head into the offseason with a detailed plan on how to further improve heading into year No. 2, he admitted it's tough to see the season come to an end. He witnessed the Yankees clinch the American League East title prior to the series beginning on Thursday and it clearly had an impact on him. That visual served as fuel for a guy who's already hungry to be a part of a successful team. Skenes certainly did his part this season, and he'll aim to do the same in 2025. In fact, there's really only one thing he wants to work toward heading into another year at the big-league level.

"Win a lot of baseball games," Skenes said.