PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The focus is still on every start and helping the Pirates win, but Pirates ace Paul Skenes says thoughts are creeping in about winning the National League Cy Young in his first full MLB season.
“Maybe a little bit, but it’s the same thing as last year,” Skenes said of thinking about the Cy Young award. “One, the award itself is out of my hands. It’s up to voters and it’s out of your hands. Two, if you do what you are supposed to do and take care of it, keeping doing the work and pitch well, it’s going to take care of itself however it should. Whether you should win it or not. It’s the same thing as the Rookie of the Year last year, that’s how I’ve looked at it.”
The 23-year-old leads MLB in ERA by a wide margin. Skenes is 2.07 for the season to 2.46 for the second-place pitcher Cristopher Sanchez of the Phillies. He is second only to Giants starter Logan Webb as of Sunday afternoon in innings (161). The batting average against is .195 (second to Nick Pivetta). Skenes leads the NL in WHIP at 0.94 and second to Philly’s Zach Wheeler in strikeouts (195-181).
Wheeler is out the rest of the season, which Skenes said is unfortunate. He said if you want to win an award like that, you want to face guys at their best. Much like when you are facing a team, Skenes wants to face their best. He called it bad for baseball, but for his Cy Young chances, the odds greatly improve.
Pirates manager Don Kelly said Skenes brings his best every day. We only see it every fifth day, but the work in the other four. The stuff in-between starts is what makes him so special in Kelly’s mind.
“He should definitely be in that conversation and at the top of the list,” Kelly said. “It’s amazing. It’s amazing what he is able to do. The velo, he mixes it up, in and out, up and down, the changeup, the sweeper and he’s always in control. It’s hard to put that expectation on him. He continues to go out and do what he does.”
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said he doesn’t need to campaign for him, that Skenes is letting his play do the talking.
Second only to Vida Blue in earned run average in the first 50 starts his career, Skenes immediately looked to the future.
“Just got to do it in the next 50 and the 50 after that,” Skenes said. “Consistency I think is the biggest thing. Being on the field, doing the same thing every day. I think that’s all you can ask for from a player. I’ve been pretty consistent from this point, just got to keep going.”
Even with the weekend sweep of the Rockies, the Pirates are still 17 games under .500 and he still has a losing record at 8-9. However, Skenes said this team and pitching staff is growing together. He said they’ve done a good job of that this year.
“I’m super-happy with where we are as a staff right now, as a team right now,” Skenes said.