Paul Skenes

Paul Skenes

23-Year-Old PitcherSP
Pittsburgh Pirates
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Expectations were sky high for Skenes when he was called up by the Pirates for his big-league debut in May, and yet he exceeded expectations as a rookie, even earning the start for the National League in the All-Star Game. The right-hander struck out more than five batters for every one he walked (5.31 K/BB) and finished with a 1.96 ERA over 133 innings spanning 23 starts, the second-lowest ERA for a rookie pitcher since the earned run became an official stat in both leagues in 1913. With a devastating four-seamer that averaged 98.8 mph in 2024, five secondary pitches highlighted by the sinker and breaking ball, plus exceptional command of his repertoire, Skenes is already an ace and arguably the SP1 overall in fantasy baseball heading into 2025. However, the velocity, while great for getting results on the field, could be seen as something as a red flag given many of the game's hardest throwers have gone down in recent years due to elbow trouble. Skenes, who will still be just 22 years old at the start of the upcoming season, has avoided the operating table so far in his young career. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#13
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Pirates in March of 2025.
Cruises to fourth win
PPittsburgh Pirates
May 28, 2025
Skenes (4-5) earned the win against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, allowing four hits and no walks while striking out seven over 6.2 scoreless innings.
ANALYSIS
Skenes threw 67 of his 96 pitches for strikes and racked up 15 swinging strikes, recording multiple whiffs on six different offerings. The 23-year-old has delivered five quality starts in six May outings, yet this was his first win since April 25. He'll carry a 2.15 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 77:18 K:BB across 75.1 innings into a home matchup with the Astros next week.
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Pitching Stats
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2025
2024
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
99
Last 10 Games
99
Last 5 Games
99
How many pitches does Paul Skenes generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does Paul Skenes generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-5%
BAA vs LHP
2025
 
 
-9%
BAA vs RHP
2024
 
 
-11%
BAA vs LHP
2023
No Stats
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2023vs Left .189 439 136 31 76 17 2 6
Since 2023vs Right .199 368 111 19 69 10 0 8
2025vs Left .194 176 50 9 32 9 1 2
2025vs Right .176 117 27 9 19 4 0 2
2024vs Left .186 263 86 22 44 8 1 4
2024vs Right .210 251 84 10 50 6 0 6
2023vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-55%
ERA on Road
2025
 
 
-67%
ERA on Road
2024
 
 
-47%
ERA on Road
2023
No Stats
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2023Home 2.83 1.07 101.2 7 4 0 9.7 2.3 1.0
Since 2023Away 1.27 0.81 106.2 8 4 0 11.6 2.0 0.3
2025Home 3.60 1.07 30.0 1 3 0 8.1 2.4 1.2
2025Away 1.19 0.82 45.1 3 2 0 9.9 2.0 0.0
2024Home 2.51 1.07 71.2 6 1 0 10.4 2.3 0.9
2024Away 1.32 0.80 61.1 5 2 0 12.8 2.1 0.4
2023Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Paul Skenes compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
4.28
 
K/9
9.2
 
BB/9
2.2
 
HR/9
0.5
 
Fastball
98.0 mph
 
ERA
2.15
 
WHIP
0.92
 
BABIP
.258
 
GB/FB
1.80
 
Left On Base
77.3%
 
Exit Velocity
82.2 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
2.8%
 
Spin Rate
2114 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
21.1%
 
Swinging Strike
13.3%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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2024 Fantasy Outlook
Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft, is such a good pitching prospect that the most interesting thing to discuss with him is when he will make his big-league debut. He tallied 122.2 innings for LSU and 6.2 innings across stops at rookie ball, Single-A and Double-A last season (129.1 total innings), so there shouldn't be any notable workload restrictions in his age-22 season beyond the normal care teams show their most prized young arms. Additionally, if Skenes were to spend a full year in the majors and win rookie of the year, the Pirates would be rewarded with a Prospect Promotion Incentive draft pick at the end of the first round in 2025. The 6-foot-6 righty boasts two potential 80-grade pitches in his fastball (sits 99-100 mph, touches 103) and mid-80s slider. He has started throwing his upper-80s changeup more, and that looks like a potential third elite offering. The only things that could derail an ascent to ace status in a few years are injuries and/or unforeseen command issues. Skenes is generally seen as the best college pitching prospect since Stephen Strasburg, and Strasburg made 11 starts in the upper-levels of the minors before making his big-league debut. That could be Skenes' path as well, but there are different incentives in place now, so he will be appointment viewing in spring training games for as long as he remains in big-league camp.
More Fantasy News
Settles for no-decision
PPittsburgh Pirates
May 24, 2025
Skenes didn't factor into the decision in Friday's win over the Brewers, giving up one earned run on four hits and two walks while striking out eight batters across six innings.
ANALYSIS
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Stellar in loss
PPittsburgh Pirates
May 18, 2025
Skenes (3-5) allowed one run on three hits and a walk over eight innings Sunday, striking out nine and taking a loss against the Phillies.
ANALYSIS
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Gives up one run in no-decision
PPittsburgh Pirates
May 12, 2025
Skenes did not factor into the decision against the Mets on Monday, allowing one run on six hits and three walks while striking out six across six innings.
ANALYSIS
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Six strong innings despite loss
PPittsburgh Pirates
May 6, 2025
Skenes (3-4) took the loss Tuesday against the Cardinals after allowing two runs on three hits and four walks in six innings. He struck out six.
ANALYSIS
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Serves up three homers in loss
PPittsburgh Pirates
May 1, 2025
Skenes (3-3) was charged with the loss Thursday against the Cubs after surrendering three runs on five hits and four walks over five innings.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Will not be traded anytime soon
PPittsburgh Pirates
May 21, 2025
The Pirates have no intention of trading Skenes anytime soon, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
ANALYSIS
Speculation about Skenes' future in Pittsburgh has surfaced amid another disappointing season for the Pirates. While there's very little chance of the Pirates being able to lock Skenes up to a long-term contract, the team is in no rush to trade him at this juncture since he's under team control through 2029.
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