Organization of Pittsburgh Pirates Unwarranted in Withholding Paul Skenes Following Another Humiliating Defeat
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The Pittsburgh Pirates still stand as an uncanny source of national embarrassment, and they're blatantly squandering the top-tier potential of one of baseball's most promising young pitchers, Paul Skenes.
Skenes isn't just meeting his pre-debut expectations; he's obliterating them. Following a scorching 2024 season that concluded with a mere 1.96 ERA and 170 strikeouts in 133 innings, Skenes has been equally impressive to kick off the 2025 season. Although his strikeouts are slightly down, sitting at 85 in 83.1 innings, he boasts a 2.05 ERA and has significantly reduced his walks and home run rates while limiting hard contact.
And the Pirates continue to flounder in their attempt to construct a half-decent team around him. To the point where reputable MLB reporters openly discussed Pittsburgh considering offers for Skenes ahead of the trade deadline. So much so that the Pirates were compelled to deny it by leaking to alternative reporters.
Read: Pirates' Bizarre Approach to Building Around Paul Skenes
Tuesday night encapsulated, once again, the reason the Pirates organization doesn't deserve Skenes on their roster.
Skenes against the Houston Astros delivered yet another spectacular outing. But, in true Pirates fashion, he was saddled with a disappointing loss. Eight innings pitched, just three hits allowed, one walk, eight strikeouts, and one run. As expected, he departed the game trailing 1-0, with the Astros adding two more runs in the ninth to claim a 3-0 victory. This game script is startlingly similar to one that unfolded for Skenes just a few weeks prior.
On May 18, Skenes faced off against the Philadelphia Phillies, surrendering merely three hits, one walk, one run, and nine strikeouts over eight innings. And, you guessed it, he lost 1-0.
Intriguingly, according to The Athletic, this marks the first time since Pedro Martinez in 2000 that a pitcher has had two starts with eight innings or more pitched, zero or one run allowed, one walk or fewer, and eight or more strikeouts in a single season, and lost both starts. And it's only the first week of June.
The 2025 Pittsburgh Pirates, in essence, encapsulated.
There's a treasure trove of additional astonishing statistics where that came from. Skenes has allowed just 19 runs in 13 starts thus far, and the Pirates have lost eight of those games. Their record stands at 5-8 when he starts. Simply mind-boggling.
Since 1947, only 21 pitchers have boasted an ERA of 3.00 or lower and lost 17 games. Skenes is on track to lose 16 games with a 2.05 ERA. The 2025 Pittsburgh Pirates are a perfect example of this phenomenon.
In terms of overall offensive success, the Pirates rank a dismal 29th out of 30 teams, according to Fangraphs' weighted runs created plus (wRC+) metric. The league average is 100, the Pirates as a team have a 79 wRC+, 21 percent worse than the league average. The only team fares worse? The historically poor Colorado Rockies.
As a whole, the Pirates are 60 runs worse than the average MLB team, roughly a run per game worse. They sit 136 runs behind the league's top-ranked Dodgers offense and own the second-worst baserunning unit, surpassed only by the Seattle Mariners. They struggle defensively as well.
Quality of play aside, the Pirates' offense is batting a mere .226/.304/.337 this season. Naturally, this .641 OPS leaves them near the bottom of the league. There isn't a single aspect of their game that function optimally.
It's one thing to aim for a well-rounded roster and miss the mark. However, the Pirates can't even be bothered to attempt to compete or win as many games as possible because it would complicated matters for the ownership and their profits. Instead of building around a burgeoning talent like Skenes, they opted for additions like Tommy Pham, Andrew McCutchen, and Enmanuel Valdez. This was their grand plan to bolster their offensive firepower.
It's pathetic, it's mortifying, and Skenes deserves so much better. Sadly, it seems he'll never find it in Pittsburgh.
- Amidst the 2025 season, Paul Skenes, a promising MLB baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, has consistently delivered impressive performances, yet he continues to notch losses due to his lackluster team support.
- The Pittsburgh Pirates' offensive struggles are as prominent as ever, with a dismal MLB ranking of 29th out of 30 teams in weighted runs created plus (wRC+) metric. Despite the presence of a potential star like Paul Skenes, the Pirates are unable to capitalize on his talent, demonstrating a questionable approach to building their team.
