Paul Skenes: his first 50 starts are historic

Passion MLB
Crédit: MLB

That’s it, the prolific Paul Skenes has reached the symbolic milestone of 50 first career starts. If you weren’t convinced that he was good and needed further proof, his earned run average since his MLB debut is 2.02.

Since 1920, when the Live Ball Era began, only Vida Blue, who wore the Oakland A’s uniform in the early 1970s, has done better than him in his first 50 starts. The latter’s average is 2.01, which, let’s face it, is very similar to what the Pirates’ pitcher achieved. Paul Skenes dominates on the mound and not much else!

A historic start to his career

The first pick of the 2023 draft has everything he needs in his toolbox to dominate hitters. At six feet, six inches tall, he’s physically imposing, throws hard and with velocity. His range of pitches is varied and he’s consistent on the mound. Above all, he seems to be ice-cold in any situation.

It’s often mentioned on this blog, but what a pity the Pirates don’t take advantage of Skenes’ presence in their line-up to build around him when he’s not yet being paid a lot of money.

Nuance upon nuance

Different times, different customs, as the saying goes. Indeed, today’s starting pitchers throw far fewer innings per game than those of yesteryear. In his first 50 starts, Skenes pitched 294 innings. As for Vida Blue, he would have pitched around 380 innings. That’s significant.

That said, innings pitched or not, why is Skenes the one who comes closest to Blue in over 50 years? There have been many dominant pitchers in the last five decades, though. The answer is that Paul Skenes is in a class of his own, and the talent is coming out of his ears.

Vida Blue had the season of his career in 1971, winning the Cy Young and MVP in his 21st season. Skenes is playing in his 21st birthday season this year. Predicting an MVP for Skenes would be audacious. However, barring injury, he’ll definitely be in the running for the Cy Young trophy.

This content was created with the help of AI.