2025 Stats
W-L
4-6
ERA
1.78
WHIP
0.85
K
97
SV
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
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
Blanks Cubs across five frames
Skenes did not factor into Friday's decision against the Cubs, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out five across five scoreless innings.
ANALYSIS
Friday was just the third time in 15 starts this season that Skenes failed to make it to the sixth inning. He still managed to keep the Cubs off the board, thanks in large part to an assist from the Pirates' fielders in the fifth inning to throw Ian Happ out at home. Skenes has allowed one earned run or fewer in each of his last seven starts, and his 1.78 ERA and 0.85 WHIP (across 96 innings) are both third best in the National League among qualified starters. He's in line to start against the Tigers on the road next week.
Friday was just the third time in 15 starts this season that Skenes failed to make it to the sixth inning. He still managed to keep the Cubs off the board, thanks in large part to an assist from the Pirates' fielders in the fifth inning to throw Ian Happ out at home. Skenes has allowed one earned run or fewer in each of his last seven starts, and his 1.78 ERA and 0.85 WHIP (across 96 innings) are both third best in the National League among qualified starters. He's in line to start against the Tigers on the road next week.
Pitching Stats
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2025
2024
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
98
Last 10 Games
98
Last 5 Games
98
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+
What part of the game does Paul Skenes generally pitch?
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
-2%
BAA vs RHP
2025
-24%
BAA vs RHP
| BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2023vs Left | .191 | 143 | 34 | 82 | 6 | |||
| Since 2023vs Right | .187 | 124 | 20 | 72 | 9 | |||
| 2025vs Left | .197 | 57 | 12 | 38 | 2 | |||
| 2025vs Right | .149 | 40 | 10 | 22 | 3 | |||
| 2024vs Left | .186 | 86 | 22 | 44 | 4 | |||
| 2024vs Right | .210 | 84 | 10 | 50 | 6 | |||
| 2023vs Left | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2023vs Right | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | |||||||
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2023
-52%
ERA on Road
2025
-58%
ERA on Road
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2023Home | 2.53 | 0.99 | 117.1 | 9.6 | 2.1 | ||||
| Since 2023Away | 1.21 | 0.82 | 111.2 | 11.4 | 2.1 | ||||
| 2025Home | 2.56 | 0.85 | 45.2 | 8.3 | 2.0 | ||||
| 2025Away | 1.07 | 0.85 | 50.1 | 9.8 | 2.1 | ||||
| 2024Home | 2.51 | 1.07 | 71.2 | 10.4 | 2.3 | ||||
| 2024Away | 1.32 | 0.80 | 61.1 | 12.8 | 2.1 | ||||
| 2023Home | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2023Away | 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.
* 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
4.41K/9
9.1BB/9
2.1HR/9
0.5Fastball
98.1 mphERA
1.78WHIP
0.85BABIP
.240GB/FB
1.65Left On Base
80.0%Exit Velocity
82.4 mphBarrels/BBE
2.7%Spin Rate
2106 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
22.6%Swinging Strike
13.7%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
Stellar again in no-decision
Skenes did not factor into the decision Sunday against the Phillies, allowing one unearned run on two hits and one walk over 7.2 innings. He struck out seven.
ANALYSIS
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Handed tough-luck loss
Skenes (4-6) allowed a run on three hits and a walk over eight innings Tuesday, striking out eight and taking a loss against Houston.
ANALYSIS
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Cruises to fourth win
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
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Settles for no-decision
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
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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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Will not be traded anytime soon
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.
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.