Pirates fans will be up in arms over former MLB GM's breakout player rankings

Jim Bowden of The Athletic released his annual ranking of the top 20 breakout players for the 2024 MLB season and, unsurprisingly, Pittsburgh Pirates rookie phenom Paul Skenes made the list. What is surprising, though, is where he ranked on said list.

Bowden defines a breakout candidate as a player he expects to "perform at a much higher level than their major-league track record, or to burst onto the scene and blow away the rookie field." With that in mind, let's take a look at his top three.

Up first, we have Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal at No. 1. Totally fair; the southpaw went 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts in 192 innings during the regular season, helping to lift the Tigers to a magical stretch run that resulted in their first postseason appearance in a decade. Skubal led the league in wins, ERA, strikeouts, ERA+ and FIP, and he is a frontrunner for the American League Cy Young Award.

Ok, so if Skubal is deserving of the No. 1 spot. Surely, Skenes has to be No. 2, right?

Wrong. Skenes is buried all the way at No. 3, behind Boston Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran. That's certainly ... a choice.

Pirates fans will be up in arms about where Paul Skenes ranks in Jim Bowden's breakout player rankings

In his justification ranking Duran at No. 2, Bowden pointed out that in 2024, the 28-year-old became the first player in major-league history to record at least 10 triples, 20 home runs, 30 stolen bases and 40 doubles in a season. While that is an impressive, albeit obscure stat, an argument could certainly be made that Skenes had more of a true "breakout" season than Duran did.

And if we're talking about doing things that have never been done before, Skenes certainly has some experience in that area as well. He turned in one of the most impressive seasons by a rookie pitcher in MLB history, going 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA, 170 strikeouts and 32 walks in 133 innings and allowing just 10 home runs in 23 starts. He also became just the fifth MLB rookie to earn a starting nod in the MLB All-Star Game and the first in nearly three decades.

Maybe Bowden just didn't want to start his rankings with back-to-back pitchers? Sorry, but Skenes is the clear No. 2 behind Skubal here.

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