Monday night, the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander’s dominance was rewarded with the National League Rookie of the Year award.
Skenes prevailed over San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill, whose excellence over a full 162 games nearly elevated him to the Padres’ first top rookie honor since Benito Santiago in 1987. But Skenes received 23 of 30 first place votes and outpointed Merrill, 133-104. Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio was third.
New York Yankees right-hander Luis Gil won the American League honor in a very close race, earning 15 first-place votes to edge Baltimore Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser, who received 13 first-place votes. Gil’s 106-101 winning margin was the second-closest margin since the award switched to a three-person ballot in 1980.
Skenes, 22, was a throwback phenom in an era where pitching has become more specialized and starters who last deep into games are rare. His 100-mph fastball, devastating “splinker” and putaway slider enabled him to make that rapid ascension from a national title at LSU, to first overall pick by Pittsburgh and then one of the game’s most feared power pitchers.
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Skenes posted an 11-3 mark and 1.96 ERA in 23 starts, striking out 170 in 133 innings. It took him just two starts to announce his presence, as he struck out 11 over six no-hit innings at Wrigley Field to notch his first major league win, kick-starting a 12-start stretch in which he posted a 1.64 ERA and pitched at least six innings with two or fewer runs given up 11 times.
That run earned him the starting nod in July’s All-Star Game, and he finished strong, giving up just one earned run in 24 September innings.
Skenes was not recalled from the minors until May 11, 40 games into the Pirates’ season. But 22 dazzling starts were enough to convince voters that was more than enough. Skenes is the Pirates’ second-ever Rookie of the Year, joining Jason Bay, who won the award in 2004.
Come 2025, Skenes will be a Pirate from Opening Day – he’s a pretty good bet to earn the starting assignment – and looks forward to expanding his workload from 22 starts to 30-plus, and perhaps stretching his innings pitched toward 200.
Skenes is also a finalist for NL Cy Young, and though he likely won’t beat out Atlanta’s Chris Sale and Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler for the honor, he’s already relishing what might be possible over an entire season next year.
‘It’s going to be a unique opportunity, a challenge for sure, to do that. It starts now,’ he said on a conference call after winning the rookie honor. ‘The offseason is flying by and I can’t wait for spring training.
‘The biggest thing is going to be proving it over a full year next season.’
Gil, 26, won 15 games and posted a 3.50 ERA after sitting out the 2023 season due to Tommy John surgery. He’s the first Yankee to win Rookie of the Year honors since Aaron Judge in 2017. Cowser hit 24 home runs with a .768 OPS while playing elite defense in left field for Baltimore. New York’s Austin Wells finished third, while relievers Cade Smith of Cleveland and Oakland’s Mason Miller each earned a first-place vote.
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