Skenes (9-2) earned the win Tuesday over the Cubs, allowing four hits and four walks while striking out six over five shutout innings.
Skenes' control was a little shaky -- he walked four batters for the second time in his last four starts. His pitch count was back up to 100 (62 strikes), though that's not particularly encouraging considering he completed just five frames. The 22-year-old is now at a 2.13 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 142:30 K:BB through 114 innings over 19 starts this season. Skenes is on a workload limit, but the Pirates have not revealed how many innings he'll finish with this year. He's tentatively expected to make his next start at home versus the Marlins since Domingo German is expected to join the rotation on Wednesday, giving the Pirates six starters.
... See More... See Less
Pirates' Paul Skenes: Throws season-low 82 pitches
Rotowire
Skenes did not factor into the decision in Wednesday's loss to the Cubs, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and one walk while striking out six in five innings.
After some shakiness early, Skenes retired seven straight batters to keep the Cubs off the scoreboard in his final three innings. Skenes departed with a 10-3 lead, but the Pirates' bullpen fell apart in the 14-10 loss, keeping Skenes' record at 8-2. The 22-year-old rookie has slowed down ever so slightly in August, allowing multiple earned runs in four of five starts this month, pitching to a 3.18 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 33:10 K:BB in 28.1 innings. Of greater concern is Skenes' pitch count -- he threw a season-low 82 pitches Wednesday after throwing 87 his last time out. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington stated last week that Skenes is on an unspecified innings limit, making Skenes' workload difficult to project over the final month of the season.
Pirates' Paul Skenes: Under unspecified innings limit
Rotowire
General manager Ben Cherington acknowledged Sunday that there is a range of innings that the Pirates don't want Skenes to surpass this season, which could lead to the right-hander's starts becoming more abbreviated over the final month of the campaign, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
Cherington didn't offer up a firm number in terms of a potential innings limit for Skenes, but a workload-management plan already looks to be in place for the phenom rookie. As Stumpf notes, Skenes was lifted after six scoreless innings in his most recent outing Thursday against the Reds, despite having thrown just 87 pitches while exhibiting no signs of wearing down. The 87 pitches were Skenes' fewest in a start since his MLB debut back on May 11, and a workload around that level could become the norm for the 22-year-old down the stretch if the Pirates choose not to shut him down. Across his 17 starts in the majors, his seven starts at Triple-A Indianapolis and his two Grapefruit League appearances, Skenes has thrown 134.1 innings in 2024. He covered 129.1 innings in 2023 between his college season at LSU and his brief time in the minors upon getting selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the First-Year Player Draft.
Pirates' Paul Skenes: Dazzles again in eighth victory
Rotowire
Skenes (8-2) earned the win over Cincinnati on Thursday, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out nine batters over six scoreless innings.
Skenes gave up a walk and a single in the first inning but came out of the frame unscathed on the scoreboard. He was absolutely dominant thereafter, yielding only one more baserunner, who was wiped out on a subsequent double play. Recent conversations in the Pittsburgh organization have centered on shortening Skenes' outings at some point moving forward, but it's not clear if that was a consideration Wednesday, as the rookie phenom was pulled after six frames despite a modest 87 pitches -- his fewest since his MLB debut May 11. Regardless, Skenes has been efficient and excellent enough to be an elite fantasy option even with a slightly reduced workload. He now has a 2.16 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 130:25 K:BB over 104 innings covering 17 starts.
The Pirates currently have no plans to shut Skenes down but are considering shortening his starts, Ken Rosenthal, Stephen J. Nesbitt and Zack Meisel of The Athletic report.
Skenes has thrown 125.1 innings this season between the majors and minors, which is just a few innings shy of how many he threw in 2023 between college and the minors. With the Pirates' playoff odds looking remote, it could make sense to tap the brakes a bit on Skenes' workload. When/if the team implements Skenes' innings restrictions and whether it would announce it beforehand isn't clear, creating some potential headaches for fantasy managers. While a full shutdown currently looks unlikely, the report notes that the Pirates have a possible incentive to shut Skenes down, as the pitcher would earn an additional year of service time if he finishes first or second in the National League Rookie of the Year voting, resulting in him reaching free agency a year earlier.
... See More... See Less
Pirates' Paul Skenes: Season-high four walks in win
Rotowire
Skenes (7-2) picked up the win in Friday's 5-3 victory over the Mariners, giving up two runs on three hits and four walks over six innings. He struck out six.
Despite a season high in walks, the rookie right-hander still came away with his 12th quality start in 16 trips to the mound for Pittsburgh. Skenes' workload in his first full professional season may be catching up to him -- he's walked 11 batters and hit two more with pitches over his last four starts and 23.1 innings -- but the 22-year-old has still produced a solid 3.47 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 9.3 K/9 over that stretch. He lines up to make him next start at home next week against the Reds, and the Pirates could move to a six-man rotation over the final weeks of the year in order to provide young arms like Skenes and Jared Jones (lat) some extra rest.
