Paul Skenes has taken the baseball world by storm since making his debut in May 2024 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 22-year-old ace who was last year’s National League Rookie of the Year throws in the triple digits and overmatches hitters with his repertoire.
In the first 30 starts of his career, Skenes has posted a 2.15 ERA, 211 strikeouts in 175 2/3 innings, a 0.939 WHIP, 195 ERA+, 2.58 FIP, and 6.9 bWAR, while going 14-6.
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Since Skenes captured the NL Rookie of the Year award, he gained a full year of service time, meaning he will hit free agency after the 2029 season when he’s only 27.
The biggest contract for a pitcher currently belongs to Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who received a 12-year, $325 million deal prior to the 2024 season. Both Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander hold the highest annual averages for a pitcher at $43.3 million.
Once Skenes hits free agency — and stays healthy — he should break both records. According to ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan, it’s not out of the realm of possibility Skenes becomes the first pitcher to make half-a-billion dollars.
“The 22-year-old helped his clock by winning Rookie of the Year and the full year of service that comes with it,” writes Passan. “He’ll be just 27 when he’s on the market after the 2029 season. And if [Tarik] Skubal (or [Eury] Pérez) does indeed crack the $400 million threshold, it would be no surprise to see Skenes — the best pitching prospect in a generation — parlay his productivity, age and marketability into becoming baseball’s first half-billion-dollar pitcher.”
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It’s hard to imagine frugal Pirates owner Bob Nutting shelling out that kind of coin for Skenes, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Pittsburgh ultimately trades the superstar before he hits free agency. Pirates fans should enjoy him as long as they have him.
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