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With the latest gem from Pittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenes, there is no doubt it was much needed after the rumors have been swirling around a potential trade for the pitcher. While there would be obvious obstacles around a trade involving the Pirates' ace in Skenes, the 23-year-old would speak after the team's 10-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks about the unit that is around him.
On Wednesday, Skenes would throw 6.2 innings, where he recorded seven strikeouts, allowing four hits with zero earned runs in 96 pitches. Skenes would also get the win for the outing, bringing his record to 4-5 as he would say after the game about how the team has a “good opportunity” to achieve tremendously despite the outside being about his exit, according to MLB.com.
“We have a good core,” Skenes said. “We have a good opportunity to do something in Pittsburgh, we saw it last year, for a good part of the year. Just gotta keep going.”
Skenes currently holds a 2.15 ERA this season, but through 35 starts has a 2.03 ERA and even has a statistic that rivals Babe Ruth.
“Lowest ERA, games pitched as a 22-year-old: 2.011 – Babe Ruth, 1917; 2.012 – Paul Skenes, 2024–25 (min. 25 starts),” Joe Block posted on his X, formerly Twitter, account.
Pirates' Paul Skenes gets high praise from Don Kelly
As the Pirates said they are not trading Skenes, but that did not stop many people in the baseball world from theorizing about the possibility of it. This last outing might make some of those same people silence their trade ideas for a moment, especially with the run support that the team gave Skenes, saying it “made it easy to pitch.”
If there is one person within the team who is happy to have him, it's interim manager Don Kelly, saying a talent like Skenes “don't come around ever.”
“I think the one thing we see is he doesn't change,” Kelly said. “He continues to do the same thing out there, whether he's not getting the support, or like today, he did.”
“Paul Skenes, they don't come around ever,” Kelly continued. “I think there's a few pitchers like that. When I was younger, I got to play with [Justin] Verlander and [Max] Scherzer, and that's what you see in Paul, that type of guy. If he can continue that, continue to develop, continue to grow. He's a pitcher, not a thrower. Just the way he works, everything. He's definitely a guy you want to build around.”
At any rate, Pittsburgh currently has a 21-36, which puts them last in the NL Central as the team starts a three-game series against the San Diego Padres on Friday night.
