Pirates' Paul Skenes draws comparison to 80s Mets legend heading into 2025

In professional sports, a breakout rookie season often leads to concerns about a potential sophomore slump the following year – unless, of course, the athlete in question is Paul Skenes.

The Pittsburgh Pirates pitching phenom won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 2024 and was a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award. How he follows up his debut campaign will be one of the top storylines in baseball heading into the 2025 season.

Former Major League pitcher and current MLB Network analyst Ron Darling believes Skenes can join rarefied air with another dominant season in 2025 – and he of all people would know.

"I was lucky enough to play with Dwight Gooden, and he had a breakout rookie season – one of the best in the history of the game," Darling said Monday on MLB Network. "He followed that up his second year with a Cy Young. I don't feel any differently about this young man. It seems natural that he will turn in a season for the ages."

Pirates' Paul Skenes to match Dwight Gooden in 2025?

Including Gooden and Skenes, just five pitchers have won Rookie of the Year and finished in the top three for the Cy Young Award in the same season. Gooden went 17-9 with a 2.60 ERA and 276 strikeouts over 218 innings during his rookie year with the New York Mets in 1983 and finished second in the NL Cy Young vote. He followed that up by going 24-4 with a 1.53 ERA and 268 strikeouts over 276.2 innings pitched en route to a unanimous Cy Young Award victory in 1984.

Skenes went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts during his rookie season in 2024 while setting a Pirates franchise record for a rookie with 170 strikeouts over 133 innings. He was also the first pitcher in MLB history to have an ERA below 2.20 and over 150 strikeouts in his first 21 games and just the second since 1913 to have an ERA below 2.00 through his first 22 appearances.

Skenes was also the first rookie pitcher to start an All-Star game since 1995. If he were to win the NL Cy Young in 2025, he'd be the first Pirates pitcher to win the award since Doug Drabek in 1990.

"He's got the right makeup and body," Darling said. "There's also a joy to when he pitches, slash toughness and meanness, when he's out there as well. It's a real great combination. It's going to be fun to watch him."

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