Advertisement

Paul Skenes is one season away from rare air with Tarik Skubal

He's chasing baseball immortality.
Emma Lingan
Emma Lingan

Rum Bunter

Feb 25, 2026; North Port, Florida, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) throws a pitch in the second inning against the Atlanta Braves during spring training at CoolToday Park. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images / Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

When it comes to Major League pitchers, there’s Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal — and the rest of the sport is playing catch-up.

Last season, both went wire-to-wire in their respective Cy Young races. There was no late surge. No September debate. No “but what about this guy?” moment. They entered as favorites and never let go.

Now here’s what makes 2026 different — and historic. If Skenes and Skubal both repeat, they’ll accomplish something baseball has seen only once: two pitchers winning back-to-back Cy Young Awards at the same time.

The last duo to do it? Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson, in 1999-2000. That’s the air Skenes is breathing now.

Let’s put this in perspective. Through 55 career starts, Skenes owns a 1.96 ERA — the lowest of any pitcher in the Live Ball Era (since 1920). Not “for his age.” Not “since integration.” Since 1920, period.

He already has a Rookie of the Year, a Cy Young Award and a résumé that looks too good to be true. In 2025, he joined Fernando Valenzuela and Dwight Gooden as the only pitchers to win Rookie of the Year and a Cy Young within their first two seasons.

No one in history has opened their career with Rookie of the Year and two Cy Youngs in their first three years. That's what's sitting in front of Skenes right now.

Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal can make Cy Young history with back-to-back wins

Skubal is chasing a third straight Cy Young, which would put him alongside Johnson and Greg Maddux as the only pitchers to win three consecutively. Skenes is chasing something different: the kind of early-career dominance that forces baseball to recalibrate its expectations.

Want to understand how absurd that is? Only Clayton Kershaw and Sandy Koufax have posted three sub-2.00 ERA seasons in the Live Ball Era (minimum 20 starts). No one has done it three straight to begin a career. Skenes could — before he turns 25.

Pirates fans have seen flashes before. We’ve seen promise. We’ve seen “the next big thing.” But this is different. If 2025 made Skenes elite, 2026 could make him era-defining.

One more season, one more Cy Young, and suddenly, Skenes isn’t just the best young pitcher in baseball. He’s standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Skubal as the defining arms of this generation — chasing a piece of history that hasn’t been touched in over 25 years.

Emma Lingan

Emma Lingan

Emma Lingan is an MLB Staff Writer for FanSided primarily covering the Pittsburgh Pirates. She has been covering baseball for more than a decade dating back to her time as a student at Wake Forest University, and she has won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. National Team delegation (2016 Pan-American Championships & 2017 World Baseball Classic). She is also a credentialed NHL reporter and a member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. You can follow her @Emma Lingan on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.