Paul Skenes’ revealing admission says plenty about his frustrating Pirates season

For most of Paul Skenes’ major league career, adversity has been something other pitchers dealt with.

Skenes arrived in Pittsburgh in 2024 and immediately looked like one of the best pitchers in baseball. He won Rookie of the Year, followed it with a Cy Young Award in 2025 and established himself as the kind of overpowering ace the Pirates could build around for years.

This season has been very different, and Skenes essentially admitted as much Saturday night. Asked how 2026 has compared to his first two major league seasons, both physically and mentally, Skenes paused before answering.

“Different,” he said (via Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). “Physically, I don't think it's been any more or less challenging than the last couple years. Mentally, the challenges have probably been just a little bit different.”

That might be the most revealing thing Skenes has said about his disappointing season. He owns a 3.88 ERA through 25 starts, hardly disastrous for a normal pitcher but well below the standard he established during his first two seasons. Over his last 16 starts, that ERA has ballooned to 5.00, with the Pirates going just 3-13 in those games.

His velocity has also become a recurring concern, and his most recent start only added to the questions. Skenes threw just 65 pitches over five innings against Miami before manager Don Kelly went to the bullpen.

Now, the Pirates are giving Skenes even more time between starts. He had been scheduled to pitch in Sunday's finale against the Boston Red Sox, but Pittsburgh pushed him back until Wednesday against the Detroit Tigers. Kelly insisted the decision was about recovery, not injury, and Skenes said he was prepared to take the ball Sunday.

Still, it's notable that Skenes didn’t object to Kelly's decision. That is where his comments about the mental challenge of this season become especially interesting.

Paul Skenes’ comments reveal the toll of the first real adversity of his career

Skenes has never really had to navigate an extended stretch like this at the major league level. He has gone from overwhelming hitters with triple-digit velocity and a devastating arsenal to searching for answers while his results fluctuate and questions about his health and workload follow virtually every outing.

For the first time, simply being Paul Skenes hasn’t been enough to dominate.

That doesn't mean anything is fundamentally wrong with him. His 3.29 FIP over his recent struggles suggests he has pitched better than his ERA indicates, and he continues to insist he feels healthy. But 2026 has forced Skenes to deal with something new: sustained failure by his own lofty standards.

The Pirates hope a few additional days of rest can help physically. But Skenes’ own words suggest the bigger challenge this season may be figuring out how to respond when dominance no longer comes quite so easily.

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