Paul Skenes made a huge impact on Monday, earning the title of rookie of the year from Baseball America as a right-handed pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 22-year-old joins outfielder Andrew McCutchen (2009) as only the second Pirates player to receive this honor.
At 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds, Skenes was unstoppable this season after being drafted first overall in the 2023 MLB Draft. With an impressive record of 11-3, a 1.96 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and an astonishingly low .198 batting average against, he proved to be a valuable asset to the team over the course of his 23 starts spanning 133 innings.
According to StatsPerform, Skenes is also making history as the first rookie pitcher in over a century to achieve at least 23 starts with a sub-2.00 ERA in a single season since Scott Perry’s record-breaking performance in 1918 over 44 games (36 starts).
Among all qualified National League rookies, Skenes dominated in multiple categories such as ERA, batting average against, and WHIP, while also ranking highly in wins, strikeouts, and winning percentage (.786). His major league debut on May 11 led him to hold the lowest ERA across all of MLB for the remainder of the season.
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