Paul Skenes’ 2026 season started in the worst way imaginable.
On Opening Day against the Mets, the Pirates ace lasted just two-thirds of an inning while allowing five earned runs, immediately ballooning his ERA to an absurd 67.50 after his first start of the year.
For most pitchers, it would’ve just been an ugly outing to move past. For Skenes, it instantly became one of the biggest conversations in baseball.
Social media overreacted immediately. Fans started wondering if hitters had adjusted to him after his dominant Cy Young season in 2025. Others questioned whether the pressure and expectations surrounding him were finally catching up.
A few weeks later, those takes already look ridiculous.
The Early Panic Didn’t Last Long
The funny thing about baseball is how quickly numbers can swing early in the season.
One bad inning in March completely destroyed Skenes’ ERA before the season had even really started. But once he settled back into rhythm, the version of Paul Skenes everybody expected immediately returned. Since that Opening Day disaster, Skenes has looked untouchable again.
Start after start, he slowly chipped away at that inflated ERA until it completely normalized. Now, just weeks removed from sitting at 67.50, Skenes has lowered his ERA all the way down to 1.98, which ranks in the top 10 across all MLB pitchers this season.
Skenes Is Pitching Like an Ace Again
What makes Skenes different from a lot of young power pitchers is that he doesn’t rely on velocity alone. Even after the brutal Opening Day outing, there never seemed to be panic in his game. The strikeouts were still piling up, and it simply became a matter of time before the numbers corrected themselves.
Over his recent stretch, Skenes has continued looking more and more comfortable attacking hitters. He’s sequencing pitches better, avoiding free passes, and pitching with the confidence of a veteran ace rather than someone still early in his MLB career.
That confidence has shown up in the numbers too. Skenes currently owns a league-best 0.64 WHIP and is back to being the league-leader in the NL Cy Young conversation.
The Expectations Around Him Are Different
Most pitchers can survive one ugly outing without national headlines forming around them. Skenes doesn’t really have that luxury anymore because baseball already views him as one of the faces of the sport.
Every start feels like an event. Every stat line becomes a discussion online. That’s what happens when you’re coming off a season where you posted a 1.97 ERA and won the NL Cy Young Award at just 23 years old.
At this point, the conversation surrounding Skenes is no longer about whether he can live up to the hype. He already has. Now the conversation is becoming about just how dominant he can become if this is still only the beginning.
2026 Season Stats
*As of 5/12/2026- 6-2 Record (T-2nd)
- 1.98 ERA (7th)
- 56 K (11th)
- 0.64 WHIP (1st)
