Paul Skenes' stats with Pirates are mind-blowing — especially the non-wins
I've always enjoyed visiting Pittsburgh in the summer. Then again, I'm not Paul Skenes.
Maybe you've noticed this, but when the Greatest Pirates Pitching Phenom Ever takes the mound, amazing things happen. It would be cool if winning was one of those things. But hey, don't get greedy!
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Here at Weird and Wild World HQ, we've spent some time looking at this. And maybe it's just us, but we're starting to notice a common theme running through these starts by Skenes, a once-in-a-generation talent, pitching for a team that mostly forces that generation to cover its eyes a lot.
It doesn't matter how well Skenes pitches.
It doesn't matter how long Skenes pitches.
It doesn't matter if he's facing the Mets or the Marlins.
It always ends the same. By which I mean you won't be reading many box scores that say:
WP — Skenes
That's just a fact. But now here come more facts:
Over Skenes' past seven starts, he has a 1.77 ERA, he's averaging over six innings a start … and the Pirates are 2-5. Is that even possible?
But there's more. Of course there's more.
Over Skenes' 13 starts this season, he's leading the National League in bWAR, WHIP, innings pitched, quality starts, opponent average and even (cough, cough) a new-age stat known as Win Probability Added … and the Pirates have still found a way to ignore that 'win probability' stuff and go 5-8 when he pitches.
But wait. It gets worse. Would you like to know how much worse? You've come to the right place.
They're taking not winning to a whole new level — In his two seasons in the big leagues, Skenes is now up to 21 career starts in which he hasn't gotten a win. Somehow, it doesn't feel like that's his fault. His numbers, just in those non-wins: a 2.59 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings.
Ready for the complete list of everyone in history with that many starts (or more) whose career ERA is that spectacular in their non-wins? (This is since earned runs became an official stat in 1913 — and not counting openers.) It won't take long. Here it comes:
Paul Skenes — 2.59
That's a wrap on that list.
(Source: Baseball Reference / Katie Sharp)
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But here's even more perspective: Only one pitcher in history is even within half a run of that: Hoyt Wilhelm (who spent most of his career as a reliever), at 2.99. And the next closest active starter — Jacob deGrom — has an ERA in those games nearly a full run higher (at 3.54).
So there's that. But also …
Crazy Eights — Skenes has made three career starts of eight innings or longer. His ERA in those starts is 1.48. His record in those starts is … what else? … 0-3.
The record of all other MLB starters over the past two seasons, in starts of eight innings or longer: How about 86-5!
And just for fun … how about we throw in a few more tidbits where those came from? These are just in games he hasn't won:
• Four non-wins this season in starts of five innings or longer, with no more than three hits allowed. That would be — shockingly, I know — the most of any pitcher in baseball.
• Nine non-wins, in his career, in starts of five innings or longer, with no more than one run allowed. That's tied for (yep) the most in baseball in that span.
• Ten non-wins, in his career, in starts of five innings or longer, with no more than one earned run allowed. That's tied for most in the NL, and it's one behind Yusei Kikuchi for most in baseball.
All of this is happening at the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers, in real life, to one of the special talents we've seen pass through our sport in this century. To everyone in Pittsburgh, we can only say: Sorry! And just seven weeks until Steelers training camp!
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Pirates don't want to trade Paul Skenes. But they'd have to weigh these 5 prospect packages
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Rosenthal: Would the Pirates trade Paul Skenes? A fascinating but unlikely idea for now
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New York Times
9 hours ago
- New York Times
It's a pivotal trade deadline for the Pirates — but are they willing to all-out sell?
Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes blanked the best-record-in-baseball Detroit Tigers on Monday, tossing his third scoreless start this month and lowering his league-leading ERA to 1.91. Yet the attendance at PNC Park was roughly half the season-high crowd on hand two nights prior to procure a bobblehead and loudly petition owner Bob Nutting to sell the team. Advertisement Such is the state of Nutting's last-place ballclub a week before the trade deadline. After wasting Skenes' sensational rookie season last year, the Pirates have fully capsized in what could be his first Cy Young season. Despite sweeping the Tigers, the Pirates are 19 games under .500 and firmly sellers ahead of the July 31 trade deadline. How aggressively they'll sell is being debated around baseball. The stakes have made it a defining week for Ben Cherington. If the sixth-year GM is on the hot seat, as many in the industry believe, it could be his last chance to chart a course toward contention in 2026 that persuades Nutting to give him another year. Nutting's comments upon firing manager Derek Shelton in May suggested his patience was wearing thin: 'We need to act with a sense of urgency and take the steps necessary to fix this now to get back on track as a team and organization.' It's been a decade since the Pirates reached the postseason, nine years since they finished better than fourth place in their division, and seven years since their last winning season. Difficult as any GM might find it to construct a contender on a bottom-five budget, Cherington signed up for that challenge. He so far has failed to win on Nutting's terms and replicate the successful low-payroll model of the Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Guardians and Milwaukee Brewers. While the downfall of the previous Pittsburgh front office, led by Neal Huntington, was its inability to push pitching prospects to their full potential, the Cherington regime has failed to develop enough homegrown hitting. The Pirates rank last in the majors this season in runs, homers and OPS. The lack of run support explains why Skenes' Cy Young resume currently features a 5-8 record. The organization's best position player in the minors, 2024 first-rounder Konnor Griffin, is three levels from the majors. Advertisement Cherington's only viable path to upgrading the lineup by next spring is via trade. (The Pirates haven't signed a free-agent hitter to a multi-year deal since John Jaso in 2015.) As Cherington considers the possible roadmaps for fielding a winning team in 2026, here are a few ways his trade-deadline maneuvering could progress — listed in order of escalating aggressiveness — and what it would mean for the franchise's future: On the move: UTIL Isiah Kiner-Falefa, LHP Andrew Heaney, OF Tommy Pham, LHP Caleb Ferguson Savings for 2026: None The upshot: This result would be a sign the Pirates were unwilling to lower their demands on players under club control beyond 2025, namely starter Mitch Keller and closer David Bednar, who are healthy and rolling. On one hand, that's a reasonable approach; buyers are exceedingly reluctant to part with top prospects, and the Pirates would rather not trade core players for multiple mid-tier prospects. However, other than saving about $6 million in 2025 salary, dealing only rentals would mean the Pirates are determined to run it back in 2026 with a similar roster. Maybe they'd move a pitching prospect for a bat in the offseason. Maybe not. And maybe by then Nutting will have decided to let a different GM call the shots. Likelihood: 25 percent On the move: RHP Mitch Keller, RHP David Bednar, RHP Dennis Santana and rentals Savings for 2026: About $27 million The upshot: Cashing in on the depth of their pitching reserves and capitalizing on having several of the most coveted arms on the market, the Pirates would swap a proven starter and two leverage relievers for a handful of young hitters. They might not get any top-100 prospects in return, but the sheer volume would instantly increase the talent in their pool of position player prospects. They could backfill Keller's and Heaney's rotation spots with prospects at Triple A — Bubba Chandler, Thomas Harrington, Hunter Barco — and spend the savings this offseason further strengthening the lineup and rebuilding the bullpen. 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Yahoo
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Yahoo
a day ago
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Pirates complete sweep of AL-best Tigers on heels of getting swept by AL-worst White Sox
It's been a polarized week for the Pittsburgh Pirates since their return from the MLB All-Star break. The Pirates opened the second half of their regular-season schedule by getting swept by the Chicago White Sox, the worst team in the American League. They followed that up with a sweep of the Detroit Tigers, the team with the best record in the AL. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] The Pirates completed the three-game sweep of the Tigers on Wednesday with a 6-1 win. They also won, 8-5 on Tuesday and 3-0 on Monday, anchored by six shutout innings from Paul Skenes. Per Elias Sports Bureau, that makes the Pirates the first team since the 1980 San Diego Padres to get swept by the worst team and a league and sweep the best team in the league in back-to-back series past the midway point of the season. The third consecutive loss to Pittsburgh dropped the Tigers to 60-43, into a virtual tie with the Houston Astros (59-42) and Toronto Blue Jays (59-42) for the best record in the AL. Though the Astros and Blue Jays (.584) have a better winning percentage by a smidge than the the Tigers (.583) thanks to having played two fewer games each. The White Sox, meanwhile, remain the dregs of the AL at 36-66 (.354) So which Pirates are the real Pirates? Their record speaks for itself. Despite the sweep of the Tigers, the Pirates remain one of the worst teams in baseball and sit at the bottom of the NL Central with a 42-61 (.408) record. This is a team that's produced a 5-8 record for Skenes, a Cy Young contender with a 1.91 ERA and 0.91 WHIP. The sweep of the Tigers is a highlight of their season, but it's not a sign of anything larger for the Pirates.
