Insane Paul Skenes stat might've convinced Pirates to change their ways

Here’s the thing about Paul Skenes: he broke baseball before he ever broke a sweat. And now –– finally, mercifully, gloriously –– it feels like the Pittsburgh Pirates are acting like a team that realizes what they have.

Because once you see the number, you can’t un-see it: with league-average run support, Skenes’ first 55 MLB starts should have produced a 41–3 record.

Forty-one. And. Three.

That’s not “ace stuff.” That’s “build-the-statue-now” stuff. That’s “you only get one of these in a generation” stuff. And yet, Skenes went 10-10 last year.

Same pitcher. Same dominance. Same cheat-code arsenal. Just paired with an offense that treated scoring runs as optional.

Jayson Stark of The Athletic (subscription required) laid it out perfectly. Since the mound was lowered in 1969, only 17 other pitchers have ever matched Skenes’ trifecta: sub-2.00 ERA, sub-1.00 WHIP, 180+ innings. Those guys averaged a record of 19–7.

Skenes? 10–10. That’s not unlucky. That’s organizational malpractice. And it’s exactly why this winter feels … different.

When the math tells you, “If you were merely average at scoring runs, this dude would be 41-3," you either fix the offense, or you admit you hate joy. And finally –– finally –– the Pirates chose joy.

Pittsburgh went out and got a real, middle-of-the-order threat in Brandon Lowe, a professional hitter who doesn't disappear against righties in Ryan O'Hearn, and a grown-up major-league at-bat machine in Jake Mangum.

For once, the Pirates didn't rely solely on “depth” signings or “maybe-he-breaks-out” lottery tickets. They went out and go actual hitters –– guys who change innings, guys who cash in runners, and guys who don't make your ace win games 1-0 every five days.

Skenes doesn’t complain. He just strikes out the world, posts a 1.97 ERA, allows almost nobody on base, and leads baseball in Win Probability added. And the Pirates looked at that and said, "Maybe we should ... support him?"

Wild concept. Took us a century. But we got there.

Pirates finally respect greatness by providing Paul Skenes with some legitimate run support

The Pirates just need to get to average. That’s the beauty of it.

We’re not asking them to morph into the Los Angeles Dodgers or the New York Yankees. Nobody said spend $350 million or open a vault under PNC Park. Literally, just field a normal major-league lineup. That's it.

Because when your ace can turn league-average run support into 41–3, every single competent bat matters. Every professional at-bat moves the needle. Every “not an automatic out” changes the season. Lowe matters. O’Hearn matters. Mangum matters. But the cultural shift is what matters most of all.

In Pittsburgh, Skenes did something more powerful than winning awards. He forced accountability. He made it impossible to hide behind excuses. He made losing acceptable no longer.

When you have a pitcher like this, you don’t punt seasons. You don’t talk about timelines. You don’t shrug at wasted starts. You go for it. And for the first time in a long time, the Pirates are acting like they know that.

Skenes isn't just a player; he's a standard. You either rise to meet it, or you become the punchline in a stat column. And this winter? The Pirates chose the former. About time.