![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-17-1024x576.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Firstly, take a look at Skenes\u2019 throwing arm and where it\u2019s positioned. In 2026, it\u2019s a lot higher, with less tension built up, as it seems more relaxed in this position. This is a byproduct of the loss of tension Skenes should still have built up. <\/p>\n
In 2025, his arm is still lower, almost dragging behind him, which is due to the tension he still has built up, as it\u2019s getting ready to \u201cexplode\u201d forward. His upper half is also less open at this stage in 2025, he\u2019s more engaged in his lower half, and he\u2019s overall in a better position to fire from this spot in his motion.<\/p>\n
Once again, we can connect all of these inefficiencies we\u2019ve discussed through each of these frames back to the initial causes for concern. Without tension built up through engaging his lower half, breaking his hands later, and more, he\u2019s not able to properly explode, which can explain the velocity dip, different fastball shape, and poorer command.<\/p>\n
Also, even though it\u2019s a small difference, Skenes\u2019 hand positioning in the later frames could explain the difference in arm angle. With Skenes opening up sooner, having less tension built up in his arm, and more, it makes sense that he\u2019d naturally deliver more over the top, since nothing is keeping his arm back and preventing him from delivering the baseball.<\/p>\n
The Next Steps Forward<\/p>\n
After diving deep into the cause for concern with Skenes\u2019 struggles so far in 2026 and the mechanical inefficiencies he\u2019s currently experiencing, we\u2019re left with one final question: What are the next steps forward for the former Cy Young Award winner?<\/p>\n
First and foremost, Skenes needs to correct his mechanics, getting closer to his 2025 delivery as opposed to the 2026 delivery that\u2019s full of mechanical inefficiencies. All of the struggles we touched on in the causes for concern section can be explained by the issues with his mechanics. <\/p>\n
In short, once these weaknesses are hammered out, a lot of these struggles should be cleaned up, including his velocity, command, fastball shape, and more.<\/p>\n
This may be a trial-and-error process, and it\u2019s important to remember that this is completely okay. It\u2019s normal for stars to struggle, experience their old habits creep back in, and go through ruts like this. If anything, the near-perfection we had seen out of Skenes was more abnormal, and this will be important to remember through this process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Firstly, take a look at Skenes\u2019 throwing arm and where it\u2019s positioned. In 2026, it\u2019s a lot higher,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":237171,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74],"class_list":["post-237170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}