Latest Paul Skenes achievement practically seals his NL Cy Young win for 2025

Thankfully, we've moved on from the days when win-loss record mattered in Cy Young voting, because if we hadn't evolved from those caveman days, Pittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenes would surely get robbed.

Pirates fans should also be grateful that, despite their half-measure summer fire sale, Skenes was safe from being moved, even if rival clubs had offered the most lopsided of trade packages. The 23-year-old superstar will reside in Pittsburgh for now, and despite one of the worst owners in baseball, the club should look to keep Skenes around long-term

There are a lot of great pitchers in the game today, but if we were to break them down into tiers, Skenes would be in a class all by himself. With a blazing fastball, an otherworldly array of secondary offerings, and pinpoint control, there are few that can even sniff Skenes' stratosphere.

That combo should make Skenes the easy favorite for the NL Cy Young, and his latest feat should only solidify his case.

Paul Skenes' ridiculous feat should seal the deal for him taking home the NL Cy Young award in 2025

Skenes entered the All-Star break with a 2.01 ERA, a mind-boggling mark in today's game, that somehow has only improved after the Midsummer Classic. Now, currently sitting pretty with a 1.83 ERA, Skenes has somehow found an even higher gear recently.

His latest feat has him now earning a prestigious spot in Pirates history, as his 0.67 ERA in the month of July has him ranked top-five in franchise history (since 1920) for the most dominant single-month performance.

Let that sink in for a minute. This is typically the time of year when pitchers begin hitting a wall. It's a universal truth that coming out of spring training that pitching is always ahead of hitting. However, as hitters find their grooves and nail down their timing, hurlers' arms tire and begin to falter under the hot summer sun.

For Skenes, it's been the opposite. While every month has been superb for the 6-foot-6 righty, the first month of the season saw him post a 2.39 ERA, his worst single-month mark of the year.

That puts him on a mind-bending trajectory, where he's somehow getting stronger as most pitchers are beginning to lose steam. While it isn't reasonable to expect Skenes to continue putting up sub-1.00 ERA performances each month for the remainder of the season, his July performance should serve as the exclamation point on his Cy Young campaign. The rest of the league's aces need to resign themselves to the fact that their all just battling for second place.