PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenes has dominated opposing hitters at the plate since making his MLB debut, but he’s still looking to improve going into 2026.
Skenes is reportedly looking at adding new pitch to his repetoire for next season, which would serve as a slower version of his sweeper, according to Eno Sarris on MLB Network.
The 23-year old has already won the National League Cy Young Award in 2025 and the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 2024, serving as one of the best pitchers in baseball history at this point of his career.
Skenes already has a vast pitch mix, but could make it even stronger with the development of this new pitch.
Looking at Skenes’ Sweeper
The sweeper served as Skenes’ second-most thrown pitch in 2025, second to the four-seam fastball, and his most thrown offspeed pitch, at 15.8%, according to Baseball Savant.
Skenes averaged around 84.5 mph on his sweeper, with a 5.7-inch rise and a 11.4-inch break. It also has a 32.8-inch vertical drop and a 5.7-inch vertical break, with the horizontal break at 11.4 inches.
Shohei admiring Paul Skenes’ Sweeper movement. 👀 pic.twitter.com/uSX1ph7l0Y
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 5, 2025
His speeds on his sweeper varied, going from as slow as blow 80 mph and as fast as almost 90 mph. It also had a 37% active spin and a total movement of 12.9 inches.
The sweeper was one of Skenes’ best pitches, posting a run value of +9, the third best for a pitcher throwing a sweeper in 2025.
He also got a .150 batting average on his sweeper, a 32.9% whiff rate, struck out 30.1% of batters on the pitch and 20.7% put away rate.
Where Skenes’ excels with his slider is his ability in disguising the pitch, with a late, horizontal break that can get over zealous hitters easily.
Paul Skenes, Frisbee 87mph Sweeper. 🥏 pic.twitter.com/kYHjYtVJRr
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 23, 2025Why Skenes is Adding This Pitch
If Skenes is looking at a slower version of a sweeper, a slurve might serve as a good addition, which is a combination of a slider and a curveball, both pitches Skenes throws.
Skenes had less success with those two pitches, posting a “0” run value on his slider and a -4 run value on his curveball, which also including a .320 opposing batting average.
Sep 16, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) delivers a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
It would also allow Skenes a chance to add some horizontal motion to this pitch, while also using the downward break from the curveball to a greater extent than the sweeper.
This would serve as a slower pitch, but also make up for some of the weaknesses Skenes’ may have had with his curveball last season.
Skenes can already pick his spots with the sweeper, going on the outside corner on left-handed hitters and going further away against right-handed hitters, so the movement is there for him already.
The slurve, or the slower sweeper, relies more on that vertical break with it slowed down, but could baffle hitters even more than his sweeper did if developed properly, which Skenes has a track record of doing so.