Paul Skenes Focused on pirates’ Future Despite Individual Success

PITTSBURGH – Paul Skenes isn’t focused on the Cy Young speech he’ll likely be asked to make the week before Thanksgiving.The Pittsburgh pirates ace isn’t dwelling on the elite company he’s kept through his first two big league seasons either.

the 23-year-old doesn’t pitch to win awards, but games. And neither Skenes – though largely through no fault of his own – nor his team have done enough of that to avoid another last-place finish in the NL Central.

So no matter how much Skenes believes he’s grown professionally during his first full season in the majors – and he’s a near lock to become the first player in four decades to win the Rookie of the Year one year and the Cy young the next – he’s more concerned about how the Pirates respond over the winter.

“This is a wasted year if we don’t learn what we need to do and we don’t know why we didn’t go out there and do what we wanted to do,” skenes said Friday. “If those things happen, then it’s a wasted year, in my opinion. I don’t think that’s happening. I think – individually, as a team and as an institution – we know the adjustments we need to make. Now we’ve just got to do them.”

A season that began with the club hoping to return to contention for the first time in a decade quickly disintegrated during a nightmarish 12-26 start that led to manager Derek Shelton’s firing. While Don Kelly steadied things after replacing Shelton and Skenes has been the most dominant pitcher in the game,Pittsburgh entered its final home series against the Athletics this weekend having dropped 11 of 12 to assure the franchise of its 29th losing season since 1992.

The worst offense in the majors – Pittsburgh is last or near last in every major offensive category, from runs to home runs to OPS – has also put Skenes on the cusp of making some unwanted history. Despite an MLB-leading 2.03 ERA to go with 209 strikeouts and a.199 batting average against, Skenes holds just a 10-10 record heading into what will likely be his final start of the season early next week in Cincinnati.

No starting pitcher has ever captured the Cy Young with a record of .500 or worse. Skenes is a heavy favorite to hear his name called when the award is announced on Nov. 20. By then, Skenes will already have begun his preparations for 2026. He’s hoping and expecting those around him to do the same.

“There’s room