RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesPaul Skenes has carried sky-high expectations with him ever since he burst onto the national radar as a member of the LSU Tigers with his electric stuff. He’s consistently met and exceeded those during his young career, making the Pittsburgh Pirates look like geniuses for selecting him with the No. 1 overall pick. Now, for the first time in perhaps his entire baseball life , he’s struggling. It may be because he’s still human underneath all that talent. Or it may be a serious cause for concern for the Pirates, who expect him to remain a cornerstone on their journey back to relevance.
Skenes was rather pedestrian in Pittsburgh’s 4-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, surrendering three runs over five innings of work. He has been far from his best over his last 15 starts—not an insignificant sample size—compiling a 5.20 ERA and 1.42 WHIP. Perhaps more concerning is his walk-to-strikeout ratio which has dipped precipitously as he’s struggled to maintain his traditional velocity.
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Tim Kurkjian was on SportsCenter to discuss the situation and was asked about the troubles.
“His velocity is down on his fastball a couple miles an hour, which is rare for him,” Kurkjian said. “We’ve never seen him struggle before. That’s why this is so confusing. Plus, he’s having trouble with his changeup. League hit .103 against his changeup last year, this year .247. He just doesn’t have the same command. He walked three batters in an inning tonight for the second time in his career.”
Despite all of this, Kurkjian believes the ace will snap back into form.
“I fullky expect him to figure this out and be really good the rest of the way,” he said.
Skenes is 9-10 and won’t be repeating as a Cy Young award winner. The Pirates would love to see the version they fell in love with return. But honestly, that isn’t all that important the rest of this season as it would take a miracle run for Pittsburgh to make the playoffs.
It’s probably not time for Pirates fans to freak out but this hasn’t really been a blip. We’re talking about a cold stretch for Skenes that dates all the way back to mid-May. Velocity being down isn’t in itself a problem but if he’s at less than 100 percent then it just opens up the door to a potential injury.
More than anything, Pittsburgh needs Skenes to be healthy and productive if and when the time comes for the organization to make a real run at a World Series. That’s obviously not going to happen this year. Modern baseball means holding one’s breath at the prospect of an ace needing major surgery. Skenes is no different, and to this point there’s been no indication of concern in that arena as things have been breezy from day one.
Skenes’ track record suggests he’ll get back on track. And the rest of this year is more about mentality. The future is still bright in Pittsburgh. There’s just been some cloudy days lately.
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