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<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s wrong with Paul Skenes?<\/p>\n
All right, now that we have your attention, that answer is: Not a thing (of course)! If anything about Paul Skenes is wrong, none of us should even want to be right.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because he\u2019s still doing what he does \u2014 namely, stamping his name atop the Greatest Young Pitcher of All Time list. And no, we don\u2019t make that claim lightly. However, something did happen in Skenes\u2019 latest start for the Pirates, on Thursday night, that should command all of your attention:<\/p>\n
Believe it or not, he gave up seven hits in a start \u2026<\/p>\n
For the first time in his career.<\/p>\n
It took him (ready for this?) 47 starts. But still, how could we not ask: What\u2019s wrong? What the heck happened? And \u2026 oh, wait, he still forgot to allow a run, because of course he did.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, this shocking seven-hitter against the Reds was all the inspiration we needed to alert the Weird and Wild Department to dig in once again on the life and times of Skenes, a pitcher unlike any we\u2019ve seen in our lifetimes. And we feel remarkably confident in saying that \u2014 possibly because we feel remarkably confident that everyone reading this is under 115 years old.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Paul Skenes lowered his ERA to 1.94 on Thursday with six shutout innings against the Reds. (Justin K. Aller \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Seven is his lucky number! Imagine being so good, so unhittable, that giving up seven hits (in six shutout innings) becomes an actual topic of national conversation. But that\u2019s where we are with this guy.<\/p>\n
So yes, we asked our friends from STATS Perform the question we\u2019ve lured you into wondering about by now: Is that a record? Has any other starter made it 47 starts into a career before he allowed seven hits (or more) for the first time?<\/p>\n
Ready for the answer from STATS? No! Just him.<\/p>\n
STATS\u2019 Brady Olson looked at all (non-opener) starters in the modern era (1901-present). And 47 is the most starts \u2014 by far \u2014 anyone has ever made it into a career before giving up seven hits for the first time. Here\u2019s that leaderboard:<\/p>\n
Most consecutive starts, allowing 6 hits or fewer, to start career
(Minimum: 2+ IP in each start)<\/p>\n
PLAYER STARTS YEAR(S)<\/p>\n
Paul Skenes<\/p>\n
46\u00a0<\/p>\n
2024-25<\/p>\n
Alek Manoah<\/p>\n
22<\/p>\n
2021-22<\/p>\n
If we lower the bar below two innings, it would allow Mets reliever Ryne Stanek to jump to the top of the list with 56. But none of his career \u201cstarts\u201d have come as a traditional starter. So let\u2019s dig into our bag of asterisks and lump him into a whole separate category. Sorry, Ryne!<\/p>\n
If we waive that two-inning caveat, it would also allow Shohei Ohtani \u2014 who made two short starts after the 2020 season began \u2014 to jump into second place, with 31. But even the great Ohtani is a long way from Skenes-ville.<\/p>\n
So once again, Paul Skenes made history this week, even if some of you didn\u2019t realize it. But fasten your seat belt. There\u2019s more Skenes history coming right up.<\/p>\n
He can\u2019t get off the interstate!\u00a0Check out Skenes\u2019 first two big-league seasons. See if you notice anything special about them.<\/p>\n
YEAR\u00a0\u00a0STARTSERA<\/p>\n
2024\u00a0<\/p>\n
23\u00a0<\/p>\n
1.96<\/p>\n
2025<\/p>\n
24\u00a0<\/p>\n
1.94<\/p>\n
That\u2019s right. This dude is on the way to ERAs below 2.00 in each of his first two big-league seasons. And you should know how ridiculous that is.<\/p>\n
Here are the four pitchers in the live-ball era (since 1920) who have spun off back-to-back seasons with ERAs under 2.00 at any point in their careers\u00a0(minimum: 23 starts):<\/p>\n
Hal Newhouser, 1945-46
Sandy Koufax, 1963-64
Greg Maddux, 1994-95
Clayton Kershaw, 2013-14<\/p>\n
(Source: Lee Sinins\u2019 Complete Baseball Encyclopedia)<\/p>\n
Just so you know, that\u2019s three guys with plaques in Cooperstown \u2014 and a fourth (Kershaw) who should already have his speech written. And even if we start this clock in the dead-ball era, in 1913 (the first year earned runs became official in both leagues), we can still find only two pitchers with a longer streak than this. And they\u2019re both legends.<\/p>\n
Walter Johnson, 1913-16 (4)
Grover C. Alexander, 1915-17 (3)<\/p>\n
Catch-23! But wait. We should mention something else here. You know how old (or young) Skenes is? How about 23! Want to guess how many pitchers since 1913 have had sub-2.00 ERAs in back-to-back seasons when they were this young? Zero would be a cool guess!<\/p>\n
Even if we go back before 1913, and use the estimated ERAs you\u2019ll find over at Baseball Reference, here\u2019s what we\u2019re looking at: Skenes would still be on track to become the first starting pitcher to do this, by age 23 or younger, since Walter Johnson \u2014 in 1910-11.<\/p>\n
Roll that around your tongue for a second: Most dominating young pitcher since Walter Johnson.\u00a0That\u2019s what we\u2019re watching, friends. Incredible.<\/p>\n
No traffic on I-95! After 47 big-league starts, Skenes\u2019 career ERA sits at an incomprehensible 1.95. As Mike Petriello detailed this week<\/a> at MLB.com, that\u2019s a number we should not let zip by us without a moment\u2019s reflection.<\/p>\n Lowest career ERA, first 47 starts, live-ball era<\/p>\n 1.95 \u2014 Paul Skenes (Source: Baseball Reference \/ Stathead)<\/p>\n One more time, think about this! The complete list of starting pitchers, in the last 105 years, with ERAs below 2.00 at this stage of their careers consists of just one name. Yep. That guy!<\/p>\n And what if he keeps this up!\u00a0Is it really possible that Skenes is going to make it through his first two big-league seasons with an ERA that doesn\u2019t even start with a \u201c2?\u201d Sure seems like it. Does that seem hard? Let\u2019s go with yes.<\/p>\n
2.26 \u2014 Dwight Gooden
2.40 \u2014 Jos\u00e9 Fern\u00e1ndez
2.49 \u2014 Jacob deGrom<\/p>\n