Paul Skenes' historic achievement should propel his Rookie of the Year chances

Just when you think there can't possibly be any more records to break or historic feats to accomplish, Paul Skenes seems to keep finding them.

The 22-year-old Pittsburgh Pirates phenom struck out nine Miami Marlins batters in Monday's series opener at PNC Park, surrendering one walk and one run on six hits. It was the sixth time this season that the No. 1 overall pick from the 2023 MLB Draft recorded nine or more strikeouts, but he carved out yet another space for himself in the franchise record books on just the second batter he faced.

After giving up a leadoff single to Xavier Edwards, Skenes skillfully struck out Connor Norby on a foul tip to earn his 143rd strikeout of the season, breaking a club record for most strikeouts by a rookie pitcher in a single season that had stood for more than nine decades. He proceeded to put the record even further out of reach for the next Pirates rookie, bringing his season strikeout total to 151.

And, as is customary for Skenes, he did it in style. He topped triple digits six times through six innings of work, throwing 67 of his 98 pitches for strikes. Skenes earned his 10th win of the season and tied Mitch Keller for the team lead with 14 quality starts (out of 20) while lowering his ERA to a team-best 2.10.

Paul Skenes' historic achievement should propel his Rookie of the Year chances

Skenes appeared to be a lock for the National League Rookie of the Year award coming out of the All-Star break, but a second-half surge by San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill has completely flipped the narrative. Merrill is now the significant favorite according to all major sportsbooks, making Skenes the underdog with about three weeks left in the season.

Skenes has still been one of the most dominant pitchers in Major League Baseball over the past several weeks, and Monday's win was proof positive of that. But there are several factors working against him in the NL Rookie of the Year race, not the least of which is the the fact that the Pirates have fallen entirely out of the playoff picture, which could lead to tighter management of Skenes' workload.

Skenes also got a late start to the season, making his MLB debut in May, thereby casting a shadow on his Rookie of the Year candidacy. What he's done in the nearly four months that he's been in the majors has certainly kept him in the mix for the award; and even if he isn't able to close the gap in the odds down the stretch, he has still put together one of the most impressive seasons by a rookie pitcher that MLB has seen in quite some time.

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