Former LSU All-American right-hander Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates is a finalist for both the 2024 National League Cy Young Award and the National League Rookie of the Year Award after compiling 170 strikeouts and recording a 1.96 ERA during the season.
The Baseball Writers’ Association of America will announce the winners of the Rookie of the Year Award on Monday, November 18, and the winners of the Cy Young Award on Wednesday, November 20.
Skenes is seeking to become LSU’s first Cy Young Award winner and its second Rookie of the Year. Former LSU shortstop Alvin Dark of the Boston Braves was voted the MLB Rookie of the Year in 1948, when one award was given across both leagues.
Skenes is the third former LSU pitcher to become a Cy Young Award finalist, joining right-hander Kevin Gausman of the Toronto Blue Jays in 2023 and right-hander Aaron Nola of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2018.
Skenes, who made his MLB debut on May 11, enjoyed a remarkable rookie season, posting an 11-3 record and a 1.96 ERA in 133.0 innings (23 starts) with 32 walks and 170 strikeouts. He was the starting pitcher for the National League in the All-Star Game, becoming just the fifth rookie to start on the mound in the Midsummer Classic.
Skenes was chosen by Pittsburgh as the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 MLB Draft. Skenes and LSU outfielder Dylan Crews (No. 2 overall selection by Washington) became the first players from the same school to be selected Nos. 1-2 in a single draft.
At LSU, Skenes was the 2023 Dick Howser Award winner, the D1 Baseball National Player of the Year, and the SEC Pitcher of the Year, as he helped lead the Tigers to the National Championship. He compiled a 13-2 record and a 1.69 ERA in 122.2 innings with 20 walks and an SEC-record 209 strikeouts, and he finished No. 1 in the nation in strikeouts (209), strikeouts per nine innings (15.33) and WHIP (0.75).
The product of Lake Forest, Calif., in 2023 finished No. 2 in the nation in ERA (1.69), No. 3 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (10.45), and No. 5 in hits allowed per nine innings (5.28). He was voted the Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series, as he was 1-0 in two starts with a 1.15 ERA in 15.2 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits with two walks and 21 strikeouts.
Skenes, a member of the 2023 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll, pledged $10 for every strikeout he recorded at LSU in 2023 to Folds of Honor, a nonprofit organization that provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of military and first responders who have died or been disabled.
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