Paul Skenes finished the year with the best ERA in the league across his 32 appearances.
Despite his dominance, the Pirates missed the postseason for the seventh straight year.
Skenes remains the heavy favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award, according to BetMGM, and on Friday, Oct. 3, he added to his resume by receiving a prestigious honor.
It certainly wasn’t an ideal season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who finished last in the NL Central with a 71-91 record.
However, there’s a bright side: they still have arguably the best pitcher in baseball in Paul Skenes. He capped off a remarkable second MLB season, positioning himself as the heavy favorite to win the NL Cy Young after finishing third as a rookie.
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Skenes didn’t always receive the best run support from the Pittsburgh offense, finishing with a 10-10 record. But he maintained a league-best 1.97 ERA across 32 starts, along with 7.6 WAR and a 0.948 WHIP, closing out the year after making his final start against the Cincinnati Reds a week ago.
Following his stellar season, the Pirates announced on Friday that Skenes has officially been named Baseball Digest’s MLB Pitcher of the Year.
“Congratulations to our very own Paul Skenes on being named Baseball Digest’s MLB Pitcher of the Year!” Pirates posted.
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Fans congratulated Skenes on the honor, even as many expressed frustration with the organization, which has struggled to build a winning team around him since drafting him out of LSU.
“Congratulations to Paul. Build a contender or sell the team,” a fan said.
Someone else added, “Congratulations!!! Ownership still sucks,” someone else added.
Another person wrote, “Congrats Paul. Sell the team Bob.”
One more person commented, “Congrats Paul.”
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes is the NL Cy Young favorite
Charles LeClaire-Imagn ImagesCharles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Skenes made it clear after his final start that the Pirates recognize what needs to be fixed organizationally and are motivated to make the necessary changes.
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“This is a wasted year if we don’t learn what we need to do and we don’t know why we didn’t go out there and do what we wanted to do,” Skenes said. “If those things happen, then it’s a wasted year, in my opinion. I don’t think that’s happening. I think — individually, as a team and as an organization — we know the adjustments we need to make. Now we’ve just got to do them.”
Related: Reds Make Nick Lodolo Announcement After Leaving Pirates Game
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Oct 3, 2025, where it first appeared in the MLB section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.