Paul Skenes is still Paul Skenes, but the Pittsburgh Pirates superstar right-hander is having a down year by his standards. What's the core reason for Skenes' 2026 performance? Well, the 2025 National League Cy Young Award winner thinks the 2026 World Baseball Classic "definitely affected the year" and "was kind of the root" of his struggles.
"Usually, that time of year [early March], you’re kind of ramping up and it’s a little bit slow. You can kind of get onto the slope and find your body. One live [batting practice], you’re topping at 97 [mph], and then the next you’re 98, 99.
And that wasn’t the case this year. … Looking back, I don’t think that really helped," Skenes said in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Skenes found success in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, which took place from early-to-mid March.
Over two starts for Team USA, he recorded a 1.08 ERA, an 0.96 WHIP and nine strikeouts over 8 ⅓ innings pitched, holding opponents to a .226 batting average. Among the talking points surrounding Skenes this season has been his slight dip in velocity. Granted, his four-seam fastball is still registering in the mid-to-high 90s on the radar gun.
"When you go outing to outing, you don’t really see the big picture sometimes. And I think looking back, I can kind of see it now," Skenes said. "Because early in the season, you can get away with stuff mechanically, or you might not be moving perfectly, but you’re fresh and the velocity is there because you’re feeling good. … You can’t get away with that in July and August and September." Through 31 starts, Skenes has recorded a 3.91 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP and a 114 ERA+, while totaling 192 strikeouts and 3.1 wins above replacement over 168.0 innings pitched.
For context, Skenes posted an NL-best 1.97 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 226 ERA+ last year, while totaling 216 strikeouts and eight wins above replacement. In 2025, Skenes gave up 11 home runs. This year, he has surrendered 19 home runs.
Moreover, Skenes posted a 1.96 ERA, an 0.95 WHIP and a 211 ERA+ over 23 starts in his 2024 rookie campaign (133.0 innings pitched), while racking up 170 strikeouts, 5.8 wins above replacement and finishing third in NL Cy Young Award voting. "Stuff changes over the course of the season and from outing to outing. With that said, there’s been a lot more changes, outing to outing this year, that I kind of just don’t have an answer for body-wise," Skenes expressed.
Skenes and the Pirates are 79-77. While eliminated from playoff contention, Pittsburgh has the chance to post its first winning season since 2018.
