Paul Skenes returned from a recent road trip and discovered his locker had been moved to a more prominent spot in the Pittsburgh Pirates clubhouse, just across from franchise icon Andrew McCutchen.

It was designed to give Skenes more space but also served as a not-so-subtle message that the 23-year-old right-handed pitcher has earned a more prominent position within the Pirates. That hasn’t gone unnoticed by McCutchen, who sees Skenes becoming more outspoken and taking on a greater leadership role.

“Obviously, everyone does. The painting is on the wall. It’s there,” McCutchen told TribLive on Friday. “I don’t feel like he’s any different than I was my first couple years in the big leagues: lead by example, by actions, by what you do on the field. Not just by the result of it. It’s what leads to the results. It’s that even-keeled, just listening to everyone, respecting everyone and going about your business the right way. That’s the way he’s showing how he leads. A point in time will come where there’s going to be a need for more than just that.”

Moments later, Skenes learned he unanimously swept the voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America Pittsburgh chapter for the Roberto Clemente (MVP) and Steve Blass (best pitcher) awards. The overwhelming favorite to become the first player since Dwight Gooden in 1984-85 to win the National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young in successive seasons, Skenes preferred to use his platform to publicly take ownership of a disappointing season for the Pirates (67-89).

“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, noting the need for the Pirates as individuals, a team and an organization to make more sacrifices to end a streak of seven consecutive losing seasons. “We just need to do it. I’m sure we’ll get some pieces and do all that, but my mind right now is what can we do within the locker room to get better, now and for next year? There’s urgency to it, and we need to understand that and act on it.”

Speaking of urgency, the sooner Skenes develops into the unquestioned leader of the Pirates the better. The 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick has outperformed his $9.2 million signing bonus by becoming a two-time All-Star and one of baseball’s best pitchers. He’s the first face of the franchise since McCutchen to treat it as a responsibility instead of a burden.

Skenes accepts as much but believes it’s going to take a collective effort to turn the Pirates into a contender. Although he leads the major leagues with a 2.03 ERA and 212 ERA+ and tops the NL with a 0.96 WHIP, the Pirates are 16-15 in his 31 starts, and he has 10 wins despite 19 quality starts. His leadership, like his pitching, requires some support.

“I do, but we’ve seen it this year: I can’t do it by myself,” Skenes said. “Cutch can’t do it by himself. Bryan (Reynolds) can’t do it by himself. So we’ve seen that. We need to be better at it. That’s one of the reasons why this year has been so tough. Losing makes everything worse. We just need to figure it out. I have definitely grown personally because of this year. I’ve learned a lot. It’s the same for everybody else in the locker room.”

Skenes is reminded that a lot can be learned from losing.

“Learning experiences are definitely wins,” Skenes said. “But, at some point, we’ve got to win baseball games.”

McCutchen can relate to the reluctance by a young player to lean into a leadership role. Even now, at 38 and after 17 MLB seasons, McCutchen admits that he still isn’t comfortable with taking center stage in the clubhouse. But he understands the impact of his words and the necessity of veteran leadership, especially on a team seeking guidance.

“There’s different variables that go along with it, but, at the same time, it’s not like the ‘C’ is put on your chest and, if it’s Paul, how you need to be this type of leader,” McCutchen said. “That’s not something you want to feel as a person. At the same time, you want to feel when there’s a need that needs to be met, you meet it.”

Pirates manager Don Kelly is quick to remind that this is Skenes’ first full season in the majors, start to finish, but that the dominant performances over his first 54 career starts allows him to have candid conversations with his teammates about working as a collective.

“The thing that stands out to me with Paul is the way he leads himself first and the expectations he has for himself and how he works and goes about it every single day, which, along with his dominance on the field gives him that voice because of who he is every single day with his teammates and how he goes about it,” Kelly said. “He leads by example, and he’s not afraid to have tough conversations, as well, with other people on what we need to do to continue to get better.”

Skenes calls it “personal leadership” — showing up and doing the work every day — and wants to create interpersonal relationships by talking to his teammates individually before speaking in front of the team.

Pirates catcher Henry Davis believes Skenes has earned equity in enforcing a higher standard because he would never ask someone to do something he doesn’t do himself.

“I think it definitely comes natural from him,” Davis said. “It’s something we’ll benefit from, for sure. He knows when we need it. He picks his moments. We have leadership from those veterans, but I’m glad he’s being as intentional as he is about it.”

Skenes knows he has work to do as a leader to convince the Pirates that they need to make more sacrifices if they are going to reverse their fortunes. He knows that his words carry weight, not only in the clubhouse but throughout the franchise, so he chooses them as carefully as he does the timing of when to speak up and when to speak out.

“I’m working to do it every day,” Skenes said. “The way that it shows up appears differently every day. There’s stuff that pops up where you need to say something, and you’ve got to say something. It’s just you know when you see it.”

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