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After being selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2023 MLB Draft, Paul Skenes quickly rose through the ranks to reach the major leagues. The right-hander won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 2024 and then added a Cy Young Award to his collection in 2025.
That meteoric start to his career set high expectations—expectations that haven't been met this season, as Skenes has a record of 10 wins and 11 losses with a 3.91 earned run average.
In addition, the 24-year-old's fastball velocity has declined, adding to the level of concern in Pittsburgh.
But according to Skenes himself, the World Baseball Classic is key to explaining his up-and-down 2026 season.
There are a lot of other factors, so I don't want to pin everything on that. But I feel like that was kind of at the root of the problem. Usually, at this time of year, we start to pick up steam, but things have been a bit slow. And that wasn't the case this year. Looking back, I don't think it really helped.
Skenes pitched three times for Team USA—against the San Francisco Giants in an exhibition game, against Mexico in the preliminary round, and then against the Dominican Republic in the semifinals.
Paul Skenes hasn't been himself. Looking back, he's identified “one big change” this year: the World Baseball Classic.
While not the sole factor, he believes his participation with Team USA may be “the root” of this year's drop in velocity. Only in the P-G: https://t.co/Uamc14ZHft
— Colin Beazley (@colin_beazley) September 21, 2026
He pitched a total of ten and one-third innings in those three starts and made two additional appearances with the Pirates during spring training before the start of the regular season.
Skenes struggled in the season opener against the New York Mets at Citi Field but rebounded with a 1.09 earned run average over his next eight starts. However, the pitcher has posted a 4.73 ERA since mid-May—across his last 22 starts—with a record of four wins and nine losses.
Admittedly, the World Baseball Classic threw things off balance, but that was also the case for several pitchers in the Major Leagues who didn't experience this same set of difficulties afterward.
Skenes has also struggled with his sinker and changeup, so the problem isn't just velocity—and therefore not solely the international tournament. A look at his mechanics might be in order.
With the possibility of a lockout looming over our heads, Skenes will likely have more time than usual to prepare for the 2027 season and will have no more excuses.
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