Paul Skenes drops strong hint about his 2026 workload goal with Pirates

Unless you're willing to die on the hill that is Tarik Skubal's greatness, there's no real argument against Paul Skenes being the best pitcher in baseball. In 2025, he recorded a 1.97 ERA en route to a Cy Young Award and his career ERA improved. His talent is off the charts.

One of the more underrated aspects of Skenes' game is his longevity. Since making his MLB debut in May 2024, the 23-year-old has covered more than 320 innings across 55 starts for the Pittsburgh Pirates. It's one thing to lead the league in ERA, FIP, and WHIP, as Skenes did in 2025. It's another to do all that while tossing nearly 200 frames.

For a Pirates team that actually expects to be playing beyond September in 2026, that longevity will be an important factor down the stretch. Skenes said as much at spring camp, saying that he's preparing for a seven-month season once Opening Day comes around.

Some quick math will reveal that seven months after March 26 is October 26, also known as the week of the World Series.

No pressure.

Paul Skenes sets lofty goals for himself, World Series expectations for Pirates

Skenes' reputation as a workhorse dates back to his time at LSU, when he fronted the Tigers' rotation in 2023 en route to a national title (and the Most Outstanding Player award). That year, the right-hander covered more than six innings per start in 19 trips to the mound before making three pitstops at various levels in the Pirates' minor-league system.

Including time in the minor leagues and college, Skenes has increased his workload by about 30 innings per year in every season since 2022. If that trend holds in 2026, he'll have plenty of bullets saved for what will hopefully be a deep postseason run.

Of course, riding a guy until his arm falls off probably isn't the soundest strategy. Long gone are the days when starting pitchers handled 200+ innings with ease, and Skenes especially is at risk of injury by virtue of hurling a triple-digit fastball and six other offerings. That deep, complicated arsenal is responsible for his unprecedented success with the Pirates, but it's also cause for concern if he has to shoulder the burden of a team's World Series hopes year after year.

No one is going to tell Skenes to "take it easy" or relax, especially now that Pittsburgh is well-suited to achieve the success he's been dreaming on. But everyone, even the best players in the world, only have so many great seasons in them. If the Pirates can help it, they'll do everything they can to get Skenes to October, where his legendary talent will truly shine the brightest.