Paul Skenes earned the first of what could be many awards Monday when Baseball America named the Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed pitcher its rookie of the year.
The 22-year-old Skenes becomes only the second Pirates player to win Baseball America’s rookie of the year honors, joining outfielder Andrew McCutchen (2009).
The 6-foot-6, 260-pound Skenes, who was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft, was 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 170 strikeouts and a .198 batting average against — the lowest ever by a Pirates starting pitcher with at least 16 starts — in 133 innings over 23 starts this season.
Per StatsPerform, Skenes is the first rookie pitcher to record at least 23 starts with a sub-2.00 ERA in a single season in more than a century, since Scott Perry did so over 44 games (36 starts) in 1918.
Skenes ranked first among all qualified National League rookies in ERA, batting average against and WHIP, tied for second in wins and was second in strikeouts and winning percentage (.786). He posted MLB’s lowest ERA after making his major league debut May 11.
