Pirates ace Paul Skenes honored as National League pitcher of the month for July

From starting for the National League in the All-Star Game to holding opponents scoreless in four of his five starts to recording a double-digit strikeout game, Paul Skenes had an amazing July.

Now, the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander is being honored for it.

Skenes was voted the NL Pitcher of the Month for July, which was announced Monday morning on MLB Network. Nathan Eovaldi of the Texas Rangers won American League honors.

Across five starts, the 23-year-old Skenes went 2-1 with a 0.67 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 36 strikeouts against three walks while holding opponents to a .212 batting average.

Skenes allowed the fewest runs of all qualified pitchers, was second in ERA (trailing only Eovaldi), tied for fifth in strikeouts and was seventh in WHIP in July. He held St. Louis, Seattle, Detroit and Arizona scoreless and had 10 strikeouts against the Mariners on July 6, marking the third time in his career with double-digit strikeouts.

Skenes had six strikeouts July 11 at Minnesota, eclipsing 300 career strikeouts to become the first Pirates pitcher and one of 17 pitchers in MLB history with at least 300 strikeouts in his first 43 career starts. He closed his month with nine strikeouts against Arizona, his seventh career scoreless start with at least nine strikeouts and third of the season.

A two-time All-Star and the 2024 winner of the Jackie Robinson NL Rookie of the Year award, it’s the first time Skenes has earned the award. He became the first Pirates pitcher since Ivan Nova in April 2017 to earn the honor and the eighth Pirates pitcher overall. Doug Drabek was pitcher of the month three times (August 1987, July and August 1990), along with John Candelaria (July 1982), Gerrit Cole (April 2015), Rick Rhoden (June 1986), Kent Tekulve (August 1978) and Randy Tomlin (June 1992).