Mark Madden: What if Paul Skenes doesn't pitch better?

Paul Skenes isn’t falling apart.

But he’s not a phenom so far this season. He isn’t dominating.

Look at Monday vs. the New York Mets, Skenes’ most recent start. He allowed six hits and one run in six innings. He walked three and struck out six. He had to pitch his way out of jams in the first, second and sixth innings.

Skenes whiffed slugger Pete Alonso with a spectacularly unhittable pitch. But there weren’t many marquee moments.

Skenes’ velocity is still high but a bit down. He’s rarely cracked 100 mph this season.

Skenes’ ERA is 2.63, which ranks 17th in MLB. It’s up two-thirds of a run from last year. His strikeouts are down an average of three per game from 2024.

There have been lots more dicey moments. Skenes allowed three home runs in one inning May 1 at home vs. Chicago.

Skenes is very good. It’s only his second full pro season.

But he’s supposed to be Bob Gibson. This season, he’s more like vintage Steve Blass. (That’s meant as a compliment, Steve.)

Just hope Skenes isn’t Mark Fidrych.

X (Twitter) says I’ll feel stupid when Skenes is scintillating again.

I hope that’s true for Skenes’ sake and for the Pirates’. The Pirates are 3-6 in games started by Skenes. That’s mostly because of lack of run support. But the Pirates need to win a lot more than that when Skenes pitches.

The inside word is that Skenes’ mph is down because he’s dropped his arm slot.

Some idiots think it’s because he’s saving his arm for when he goes to a team that can win, like the Los Angeles Dodgers or New York Yankees. (He’s not.)

I wonder if he’s tinkering too much. Trying to add too many pitches, like Rick Vaughn in “Major League II.” (“Vile thing, I think I loathe you.” Randy Quaid deserved an Oscar.)

Skenes’ four-seamer, splinker, slider and change seemed like enough of an arsenal last year. He’s said to currently be throwing seven different pitches. Why?

Maybe Skenes is pitching to contact more by way of trying to throw fewer pitches and go deeper into games. (That’s not necessarily working: Skenes has gone six innings or fewer in six of his nine starts. He averaged 5.8 innings per start last season.)

Is Skenes discouraged by toiling for a team that has no hope? For an organization that doesn’t prioritize competing? Maybe that’s true for Bryan Reynolds, who’s hitting .198. (Or maybe Reynolds just stinks. $106.75 million doesn’t buy what it used to.)

For whatever reason, any drop in performance by your 22-year-old franchise pitcher is cause for concern.

This is no big criticism. No hatchet job. Skenes is still pitching very well.

But he’s supposed to be a Cy Young Award contender. Some predicted he’d be a lock. A highlight reel, like last season.

But he’s not currently the best pitcher in MLB. He doesn’t have the same command as last year.

Saying that and asking why isn’t slanderous. To be fair, it was always going to be tough to duplicate what he did last season.

What should the Pirates do?

The less input they have with Skenes, the better. (See Davis, Henry.)

What should Skenes do?

Just pitch better, probably. But what if he doesn’t?