Why Pirates' Paul Skenes shouldn't win 2024 Cy Young Award (and that's alright)

Just days after winning the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year Award, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes has a chance to take home yet another prestigious piece of hardware as a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award.

The 22-year-old rookie phenom joins a pair of veterans in Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zach Wheeler and Atlanta Braves southpaw Chris Sale as finalists for this year's award, a testament to the dominant rookie campaign that saw him finish the season at 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA over his 23 starts, set a Pirates rookie record with 170 strikeouts and even earn the starting nod for the NL in the MLB All-Star Game.

Sale turned in one of the best seasons of his 14-year career at age 35, leading the league with 18 wins and a 2.38 ERA. His 225 strikeouts also led the NL, earning him the pitching triple crown. He also won a Gold Glove for his stellar play in the field, in addition to earning his eighth career All-Star nod. Should he win, this would be his first Cy Young.

In his age-34 season, Wheeler played a significant role in securing Philadelphia's NL East division title. Wheeler led all NL pitchers in WHIP (0.95) and hits per nine innings (6.3), while also posting a career-best 2.57 ERA, good for second-best in the National League and third-best in MLB. Like Sale and Skenes, Wheeler is also looking for his first career Cy Young honor.

Why Pirates' Paul Skenes shouldn't win 2024 Cy Young Award (and that's alright)

On one hand, you feel for Skenes. It wasn't his choice to begin the season in Triple-A, and he didn't have a say in how strictly his innings were managed leading up to (and during) his MLB debut campaign. And yet, even under the strictest of limitations, he still managed cement himself as one of the most dominant arms in the game – so much so that the voters were willing to include him in the Cy Young conversation alongside Wheeler and Sale.

On the other hand, the fact remains that Skenes did not pitch the entire 2024 season at the Major League level. He may have been one of the best pitchers in the league from May 11 onward, but a complete body of work should should – and likely will – count for more in the Cy Young discussion.

The factors contributing to the argument against Skenes may have been out of his control, but they still count for something. If and when Skenes doesn't win the 2024 NL Cy Young Award, it won't be a snub by any means; the fact that he was even a finalist shows that the voters recognized his dominance at the game's highest level in a relatively short period of time.

In April, while Skenes was pitching two innings at a time in Triple-A, Sale and Wheeler were facing some of the best hitters at the game's highest level. The Cy Young Award isn't Skenes' to win this year – and that's okay! Heck, even he doesn't think he should win it. But if his 2024 season was a sign of things to come, he'll have plenty more chances.

More Pirates content from Rum Bunter